Second Chance at Love
by Brettonioxo
Summary: In this story, Sylvie Brett and Antonio Dawson have both been badly hurt by love. Without expecting it, they start to develop feelings for each other. However, it isn't so easy for them to trust themselves let alone each other. Will they ever give their love a chance or will it go to waste?
1. Chapter 1: I don't want to get hurt

**A/N This is my first fanfic for Brettonio. At this time, I don't know where I'm going with this, but I'm sure once I get started, I'll have a clue. Please enjoy!**

Ever since the night that Antonio was flirting with Sylvie at Molly's, she couldn't get the conversation out of her mind. Of course, if it was any other guy she wouldn't have thought about it. But Antonio Dawson never flirted with anyone, ever. At least not in Molly's and not in front of Gabby. Every time she thought about Gabby's horrified look on her face, she always laughed. She thought Gabby would ask her a bunch of questions about what happened, but honestly Sylvie didn't know what brought that on. Yes, they sort of had a moment in the ambulance, but it wasn't like he said anything to her when they dropped the teenager off. He just told them that he'll check on them later. Before she could think about anything anymore, Gabby waved her hand in front of Sylvie's face. "Earth to Sylvie." She said with a laugh.

Sylvie shook her head and she laughed with an embarrassed look on her face, luckily Gabby couldn't read her thoughts or else she would have questioned why she cared about Antonio flirting with her. They were at Molly's, Gabby invited her there to keep her company since it was her night to bartend. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I'm just tired." She wasn't lying entirely, their last shift was rough and it drained her, but she was happy to be here with Gabby.

Gabby looked at her with concerned in her eyes. "Are you sure that's it? You looked like something was troubling you."

"No no. I'm fine, I promise." She said as she took a sip of her drink in front of her.

Gabby smiled and she nodded her head. She was making someone a drink when she heard a familiar voice. "Hey sis." She gave the woman her drink and then she turned her attention to Antonio. "Hey Antonio. What's up?"

Antonio shrugged his shoulders as his eyes landed on Sylvie. Ever since they flirted in Molly's about a week ago, he was avoiding coming here. It wasn't that he regretted flirting with Sylvie, it was just because it was confused on why he did it. Even with a week away and a lot of time to think, he still didn't understand it. "Nothing much. Give me a beer."

Antonio sat down on the stool next to Sylvie, waiting to see if she would make a move first. When Gabby placed the beer in front of him, he picked it up and took a sip. It was getting later which meant that more people were coming, so Gabby was going back and forth giving people their orders. Knowing that Sylvie wasn't going to speak first, he looked over at her. "Everything okay?" He asked, trying to break the ice. He couldn't understand why he was nervous talking to her, but he figured it was because he didn't want her to think that he was one of those guys. Those guys that just flirts with anyone.

Sylvie looked over at him and she nodded her head. "Yes. Just tired. But if I leave Gabby now, she'll probably get mad at me." She joked. She knew Gabby wouldn't care if she left and went home to sleep, but no way in hell would Sylvie leave now with Antonio sitting next to her.

"So she's the reason why you came here tonight, huh?" He asked as he took another sip of his beer.

Sylvie laughed and nodded her head. "Yes. But I needed the distraction." She admitted as she took a sip from her drink. She could see Gabby's eyes on them as they talked but she just chose to ignored it for right now.

They were talking for a few hours, about nothing at all. They were both avoiding the topic of why they were flirting a week ago. Maybe it was because they both knew deep down why they were. But neither one of them were ready to admit it yet.

Sylvie looked down at the time and took in a deep breath. "I guess it's time I should head home." She said as she looked over at Antonio.

"Okay. Want me to walk you to your car?" He asked and she nodded her head. She said goodbye to Gabby and then stood up, grabbing her purse.

They talked a little bit heading to her car and once they reached it, they stopped in front of it. She gave him a small smile. "So. I guess I'll see you?" She said, hoping that he would ask her out or something.

Antonio nodded his head at her question. "Yes, of course. I'll see you around." He said as he watched her smile fade away. He knew that she wanted him to ask her out, and god, he wanted too. But with everything he was going through now, he didn't want to involve her. In his eyes, he felt like he was just protecting her.

He looked at her as she watched in her purse and grabbed her keys. "Be careful driving home, okay?" She looked back at him and forced a smile on her face. "Of course. You be careful too."

It had been a few days since she had seen Antonio and truthfully, she was in a bad mood. She wasn't trying to let it get to her because it wasn't like they were anything anyway. She just thought she felt a spark between them, but obviously, he hadn't felt it.

She made herself a bowl a cereal and she sat down at the table. Next to her was Herrmann and Severide who were debating on something, but she couldn't concentrate on what they were discussing.

"Brett, who do you think would win in a race, me or Severide?" Herrmann asked.

She swallowed her food and blinked at him a few times. "W—What? I don't know." She said with a shrugged of her shoulders. Why couldn't she just eat in peace? As much as she loved the boys in the firehouse, they were all competitive for no reason.

"Come on, Brett. Just answer the question." Severide knew Brett wanted to avoid the question because she would choose him.

"I honestly have no clue guys. Just go race." She shrugged her shoulders. "It could be fun." She said.

"You're no help, Brett." Herrmann said. "We don't really want to race; we just want to know who could win." With that comment, Brett couldn't help but laugh. Typical guy response.

Sylvie looked over as Dawson sat down at the table, thankful that now she wasn't the only female at the table. They were now turning their questions to her and she figured this could be her chance to escape.

A few hours into the shift, they got their first call. It wasn't anything big, it was just an old lady that fell and needed help.

When they were heading back to the Firehouse, Gabby looked over at Sylvie. "What's up?"

Sylvie looked over at her with a confused expression on her face. "Nothing? What do you mean?"

"I mean, ever since I left you alone with Antonio the other night, you haven't been in a good mood. I left it alone for a few days thinking you'd talk to me, so what's up?"

"So you set that up?" She looked at her suspiciously. She saw Gabby nodded her head and she sighed. "Does your brother just flirt with women for the hell of it?"

Gabby laughed, maybe a little bit too loud. "Oh no. I don't know much about Antonio's personal life in that area. I don't even want to know. However, Antonio isn't the type to flirt, especially in front of me."

Sylvie kind of expected that answer and she nodded her head. "Then maybe he just isn't into me."

"I don't think that's it. I saw the way he was looking at you that night. You must understand that he's going through a lot with his ex -wife and a custody battle. He probably just doesn't want to involve you in that mess. Talk to him, Sylvie. Or not. It's up to you."

"Maybe right now, I should just give him space. I mean, I want to talk to him. But if he's going through that, maybe he doesn't want to be with anyone. And lord knows I don't want to get hurt."

 **A/N Please understand that I don't want to rush them together, but I love drama and angst and that's where I want them to start right now. But in the next chapter, they will definitely have 'The Talk" I just haven't decided if it'll good or not.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Talk

Sylvie knew that all she had to do was talk to Antonio but she wasn't about to get hurt over him. She may not know Antonio very well, but she knew he didn't want to hurt her.

It was Sylvie's day off from work and she was relieved. As much as she loved her job and loved helping people, she just needed a break. Tonight, her, Gabby and Stella were having a girl's night out and she was looking forward to it. But unfortunately, she had no clue on what to wear so she decided to go a little shopping. Sylvie wasn't like most women, she hated shopping.

It was hours later and she still couldn't find anything to wear. She didn't know if she wanted a short dress or a long dress, but then she thought about if she would bump into Antonio tonight so she decided on a short dress. She didn't know where they were going tonight and knew they weren't going to Molly's, but she was still worried about bumping into Antonio.

She decided if the next two stores didn't have a dress, she would just see if Gabby had a dress she could borrow. But in the last store, she fell in love with a white dress, that was short and would for sure show off her curves in a way that no one ever saw before. She just hoped when she was out with the girls, no other guys tried to hit on her. No, right now she just wanted Antonio to notice her.

8:00 PM

They all agreed to meet at Gabby's house since it would be easier to just share one car. Sylvie decided to put her hair in curls and she put a little makeup. She didn't understand the girls that overdid their makeup, she just wasn't that way. She just decided on white heels that made her feet look great. She smiled at herself as she twirled around in her mirror. If Antonio saw her tonight, he wouldn't be able to not ask her out now. Hopefully.

When they all met at Gabby's house, they noticed that Sylvie was looking extra hot tonight. Stella looked her over. "Damn, someone's trying to make someone notice her."

Sylvie laughed and shook her head. "Whatever do you mean?" She asked innocently. But they all knew what that meant. "Hey, tonight is just about us girls."

Matt was just standing there, shaking his head in amusement. "Well you girls have fun." Tonight, Matt was on babysitting duty, but he didn't seem to mind it much. Especially because Louie was already sleeping.

Stella, Gabby, and Sylvie walked out of the house laughing, knowing that tonight was going to be a good night.

They decided on a bar that wasn't too known so it wouldn't be crowded, but also a bar that was a lot different than Molly's. They all loved Molly's, but sometimes a change of scenery was good.

They were all sitting down at a table when Gabby finally asked what they were all thinking, except for Sylvie. "Seriously Syl, did you wear that dress in hopes of seeing my brother tonight? A yes or no would do, please don't go into detail." She said as she made a face.

Sylvie laughed and she took a sip from her drink, shaking her head. "No. Antonio made it clear that he doesn't want me, so I gotta move on from that."

Stella laughed and shook her head. "Oh no, you got it really bad for Antonio Dawson. I can't really blame you, the guy is hot."

Gabby shook her head and covered her face with her hands. "Please Stella, that's my brother!" She exclaimed, hoping the conversation would end.

"It doesn't matter." She shrugged her shoulders. "That's over, before it even got started." She said with a sad look on her face. But after a second, her smile came on her face. She turned her attention to Gabby. "So how did you convince Matt to watch the baby while you went out?"

"Not that I needed to convince him much, Matt would do anything for him. But I just told him later I would make it worthwhile. It didn't help when Severide said since I was having a girl's night out, he should have a boys night out." She laughed, but they could tell she was a little mad at Severide for that. "But Matt said he wasn't in the mood to deal with Severide so he agreed to stay home."

Sylvie and Stella nodded their heads, knowing that since he and Stella ended whatever they had, Severide was getting more wild. And a little out of control. Everyone in the firehouse saw it, but it was true Severide fashion so no one said anything.

It was hours later and they had a lot to drink, however, Sylvie wasn't drunk. Stella and Gabby were but not Sylvie. For some reason, she knew her limit and stopped before then. But even that, they agreed to take a cab home since none of them were in the mood to drive right now.

Sylvie was the last one to get dropped off and she was happy about that. Because as soon as she got out of the cab and paid the guy, she saw that Antonio was in front of her apartment.

Her nerves were bad tonight knowing how their last conversation ended. To be honest, Antonio probably didn't even think she was upset because it wasn't like she said anything to him. But then again, Gabriela Dawson was his sister, so he might have a clue.

"H—Hey" she shuttered, and it wasn't because she had drinks tonight, it was her nerves and the butterflies in her stomach. "What are you doing here?" She started to relax after a few minutes, knowing that he was just a guy. A hot guy, but still a guy.

Antonio shrugged his shoulders and placed his hands in his pockets, not even sure why he was here. But he just wanted to see her, which confused the hell out of him. "I just thought I should see how you're doing." He said, eyeing her dress. After a few seconds, he turned his head away from her dress knowing that soon he may not be able to control himself.

Sylvie smirked and nodded her head. "Uh—sure." She turned her head to her apartment and then back at him. "Do you want to come inside?"

Antonio nodded his head and Sylvie took out her keys then walked up to her apartment. She unlocked the door and walked inside. She smirked again knowing that since he was walking behind her, he was checking her out.

As soon as Antonio walked inside and closed the door, she turned her head over to him. "I hope you weren't waiting too long."

He shook his head at her question. "No. I was working a late shift tonight. Rough case. So, I thought before I headed home to stop to see you."

Sylvie placed her purse down on the table and sat down on the couch. She smiled when he sat down next to her, not too close, but close enough that she could smell his cologne. "Oh well, good. It's pretty cold out so I'm glad you weren't waiting long." She tilted her head to the side. "Are you okay? With the case and everything?" She asked. She knew he couldn't talk about the case.

"Yes. I'm fine. Everything is fine. I don't want to talk about the case. That's not why I came here." He looked over at her and he took a deep breath. "I just know the last time we talked, things didn't end well."

Sylvie looked at him with a confused expression. "What are you talking about? You walked me to my car and said goodnight." She knew she was in a bad mood for a few days after that night, but she could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn't mean for that to happen and she started feeling bad.

"I know that. It's just-I know it wasn't a date or anything. Cause trust me, our first date wouldn't be at Molly's. Especially not with Gabby watching us the whole time."

She laughed at his comment. "Oh, you saw that too?" He nodded his head. "And I know that you wanted me to ask you out. I—I don't know if Gabby told you anything that I'm dealing with. But I barely have enough energy to make a microwave pizza when I get home from work."

She nodded her head, waiting for him to continue. "My ex-wife is certifiable. I can't even tell you the last time that I saw my kids. A month ago? And that was only for like 15 minutes." He said, his tone growing sadder. Whenever he thought about his kids, his mood always grow depressed.

With that comment, Sylvie couldn't help but reach over and grabbed his hand in hers. "Is that why you didn't ask me out?"

"Yeah. I just think it's better for you if we stay friends."

Sylvie let go of his hand and nodded her head. "Can I ask you a question then?"

Antonio nodded his head, urging her to continue. "You knew all this when you were flirting with me. So, why did you?"

"Just because I feel like we're better off as friends doesn't mean that's what I want." He confessed and then he looked down at her dress. "So do you just wear those types of dresses when you go out?" He smirked at her.

Sylvie laughed as her face turned red with embarrassment. "Uh no. Not really. I went out with Gabby and Stella and I just thought-why not get dressed up?"

Antonio laughed and he shook his head. "So, were you hoping to find someone else—or?"

"Oh no. On girl's night out we make it a rule not to talk to any guys. Since we are around guys all the time, it's just our time to catch up." She laughed but when she saw the way he was looking at her, her face turned serious. She knew what he was thinking and she was hoping that he would lean in and kissed her. It may seem sudden, seeing as how just moments before he told her that they should just stay friends. But the look he was giving her, that wasn't a friendship look, not at all.

After a few minutes, Antonio broke the moment as he turned his head away. He stood up and he took a deep breath. "I guess I should get going. It is pretty late." He didn't want to leave, but he also couldn't stay. Not when she was looking like _that._

Sylvie nodded her head and she stood up from the couch. "Do you have work tomorrow?" She asked as she walked him to the door.

"Yes. Do you?" He asked as he turned around at the door and looked at her.

"Yes. Early shift." She sighed but she kept the smile on her face. Whenever she was around Antonio, she couldn't help but smile. Even when she was confused about her feelings for him. "You know, you don't have to leave."

Antonio nodded his head. "I know. And I don't want to. But with you in that dress, I think it's better if I do." He could barely control himself when she was wearing jeans and a shirt, he didn't know how he was controlling himself when she was wearing a short white dress. He leaned forward and he whispered in her ear. "Never wear that dress in front of anyone but me." He leaned back and he grinned at her. "Goodnight. I'll see you later."

Sylvie swallowed hard at those words and she bit her lip. But she finally composed herself and nodded her head. "Be careful driving home."

Antonio opened her door and he looked back at her. "Hey. I'm Antonio Dawson, I'm always careful." He smirked at her and then he nodded his head. It felt nice knowing that she cared about him being careful, even if he was only just driving home.

As soon as Sylvie saw him get in his truck and drive away, she closed her door and leaned against it. Even though that conversation confused the hell out of her, she had no doubt in her mind that Antonio was into her.


	3. Chapter 3: Let's take it slow

**A/N I'm not totally confident with this chapter lol but I kind of have an idea where I want to take this to make it into a long story. Next chapter will be focused on them alone and then the next couple of chapters will be drama. But enjoy!**

Antonio Dawson was sitting at his desk, working on his next case when he heard a familiar voice coming through the gate. He looked up and he smiled when he seen his sister, Gabriela Dawson. It was a few days later since he went to Sylvie's house and although they haven't seen each other, they were texting back and forth. He was just afraid if he saw her then he would keep thinking about her in that dress…or well out of it. And that confused the hell out of him. He knew when he said that it was best that they stayed as friends, he meant it, but that wasn't what his mind or heart, for that matter, wanted.

Antonio stood up from his desk and gave her a kiss. "Hey sis. What are you doing here?"

"Do I need a reason to visit my brother?" She asked and he shook his head. He watched as she looked over at the precinct and then back at him. "Where is everyone?"

"They all went for lunch. Come on, let's go to the breakroom because I have a feeling this isn't just a visit to see your brother."

"You know me so well." She grinned and she allowed Antonio to lead her into the breakroom and she sat down. "So what's up?" She asked.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked, arching his eyebrows at her. "You came to see me. So what's up?"

If she knew anything about her brother, she knew that he was a private person. And with the smiles from Sylvie the past couple of days, she knew something was up. She just didn't know what. And she was getting tired of asking Sylvie and her always saying 'nothing, can't I just be happy?' So she was going to get the truth out of one of them. "What's going on with you and Sylvie?"

Antonio shook his head with an amused expression on his face. "What makes you think that something is going on between us?"

"So there isn't?" She asked, her hope fading away.

"No, not at all." He said, his expression turning serious. "The other night when you and Sylvie were having a girl's night out, I did stop by her place. And we did talk. But nothing happened."

"So, you talked to her? What did you say?" She asked curiously.

"You're so nosy." He laughed and he shook his head. "That I think we're better off as friends."

Gabby looked at him when he said that and then she hit his arm. "Why did you say that? Listen Antonio, I understand everything going on with Laura and the kids is stressing you out. But don't you think having Sylvie in your life will make you happy?"

Antonio sighed and he ran his hands through his hair. "I'm protecting Sylvie, Gabby. She doesn't have kids, so how can I expect her to want to date a guy that has two and an ex-wife?"

"Because she always knew you had kids. It wasn't something that you kept from her. If she's okay with it, then, why aren't you? Let me ask you something. Are you still in love with Laura?"

Antonio stared at her when she asked the question and he shook his head. "No, of course not. The only relationship that I have with Laura right now is that she's the mother of my children. That's it."

Gabby figured as much but she just wanted to ask. She stood up and she walked over to him. "Don't you think you deserve to be happy?"

"It just isn't the right time. Between my job and fighting for my kids, I will never have time for Sylvie."

"Then you make time. If Matt and I can make it work, then so can you and Sylvie." She said as she picked up her purse. "I have to pick up Louie from daycare. But please Tonio, think about what I said."

Antonio nodded his head and he smiled at her. "Give Louie a kiss from me. One of these days I'll stop by and visit him."

"I'm going to hold you to that. He wants to see his uncle." She kissed his cheek and then she walked out of the room.

Sylvie text Antonio to say what he was doing tonight to see if they could hang together, but after a few hours of no response she decided that either he was busy or he was back avoiding her for some reason. As much as she loved the dress she wore the other night and loved the way he was looking at her in it, and especially loved what he whispered in her ear, she thought that it was a big mistake. It just made things even more complicated than it had to be. She decided to change into her pajamas and watch movies to distract her mind.

Antonio saw the text from Sylvie and he smiled. He was going to text her to tell her that he will stop by after work but figured that it would be better if he surprised her. All day he was thinking about what Gabby told him and although he was confused, he just wanted to be around Sylvie right now.

He figured if he didn't tell her that he was stopping by, he could always chicken out without her realizing it. He didn't remember ever being this nervous around Laura but then again that was a long time ago and he probably forgot.

After a few hours and his shift was over, he thought about going home and changing but knew once he went inside his apartment, he would just make up any excuse not to go see her. He drove his truck over to Sylvie's apartment and after a few minutes, he parked his truck. He took a deep breath and he got out. He walked up to her apartment and then he knocked on the door.

Sylvie was in the middle of a romance movie when she heard a knock at her door. She turned off the movie and placed her bowl of popcorn down on the table and got up. She walked over to the door wondering who it was. As soon as she saw Antonio standing there she wished that she would have peeked out so that she could have changed into something better. Something that didn't make it look like she was a lazy bum.

"Nice outfit." Antonio smirked at her and he stepped inside her apartment. "I'm sorry I would have text you back but I was in the middle of a case. So I just thought it was an open invitation to come over when I was done with work."

Sylvie was mortified with what she was wearing but she was glad that he did stop by. She closed the door behind him and walked back over to the couch. "Not often that I can get to relax so I thought since you didn't answer my text back, you didn't want to see me."

Antonio shook his head and he sat down on the couch. He smiled when she sat down next to him. "I can come back tomorrow—or well the next day you have off if you want me to."

After hearing his comment, she shook her head. "No. I invited you over."

Antonio looked over at her junk food on the table and he smiled. Laura never ate like Sylvie did and for some reason it made him happy. Just for the simple fact they were completely different. He turned his head back to her. "So, I kind of got the impression that our talk confused you. Only because when I left, I was also confused."

Sylvie looked over at him and she tilted her head. "Confused? Why?"

"Because although I said it would be best if we stayed friends, when I walked out of here, it didn't feel that way."

"Oh?" Sylvie asked. She didn't know where he was going with this and she wanted him to elaborate.

"You just messed up my head with that dress." At that comment, they both laughed.

"I'm sorry. I won't wear it again." She promised.

He reached over and he grabbed her hand. "No, you know what I said that night to you." He said as he tangled their fingers together. His expression turned serious. "I just-this is all new to me. These feelings. The last woman I felt this way about was my ex -wife and that was years ago. I just don't feel right involving you in my life when my life is nothing but chaos right now."

Sylvie took a deep breath as she placed her free hand on his face. "But don't you think that would better if I was the only person who made you sane? Kind of like your haven?"

Antonio smiled at her words and he nodded his head. "I know, but it isn't fair to you. You don't have any kids so how can I expect you to want to be with me when I have kids?"

"Kids or not, it doesn't matter to me. Same with your ex-wife. I just never felt connected to anyone the way I feel connected to you."

Antonio nodded his head and he smiled at her. "Let's just take it slow, okay? I really want this to work between us."

"I do too. More than you know." Sylvie smiled as she took her hand off his face, staring into his eyes.

Antonio smiled at her and he nodded his head. "So, how about we order some food and just enjoy each other for tonight?"

Sylvie smiled and she leaned against him. "Yes, I would love that."


	4. Chapter 4: Stay the night

**A/N After this chapter, here comes the drama lol fair warning. It won't be too bad though, I promise! Enjoy! By the way, thank you SO much for the reviews. They keep me motivated so thank you!**

Antonio and Sylvie were still taking things slow, and although she understood why, it was driving her crazy. Every time she thought he would kiss her, he would always pull away. She couldn't quite understand why he wanted to take that slow because even if he was a good kisser, which she knew he would be, it wasn't like she would expect sex from him.

All of this was driving her crazy, but she was still happy that he wanted to spend as much time with her as he could. Today he was spending time with his kids and he said he would stop by her house later since she had the day off. She took out her phone and decided to past the time she would catch up with Gabby. She dialed her number and waited for her to pick up.

"Hey." Sylvie said as soon as Gabby answered the phone.

"Hey. What's up?" Gabby said in a cheerful mood. Ever since she started adopting Louie, Gabby hasn't been anything but cheerful and Sylvie loved to see her best friend happy.

"Nothing. You want to do something today? We can take Louie to the park or something."

Gabby laughed through the phone. "Of course. But I thought you would be with my brother since every free time you have, you're with him." She said in an amused tone.

"No. He's busy today. He's with his kids." Sylvie was happy that Laura finally agreed for him to spend time with his kids. He had been asking for weeks and she kept giving him every excuse in the book but she must have realized the kids missed their father. "But I am seeing him later." She smiled.

"Of course you are." Gabby smirked. Sylvie complained to her a few days earlier that Antonio wanted to take things extremely slow, which she knew frustrated her but she tried to get Sylvie to see where he was coming from. "But I'll pick you up in an hour?" She suggested. They both agreed they would see each other then.

An hour later, Sylvie jumped into Gabby's car, or well Matt's truck. She smirked. "I'm surprised he let you use his truck."

Gabby laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "Not much he says no to me anymore."

Sylvie leaned behind her and started tickling Louie, which resulted into a fit of giggles. She turned her attention back to Gabby. "Lucky for you." She sighed but after a few seconds she smiled again. "So where are we off to?"

"Well, I was thinking it might be a little cold for a park." Sylvie agreed. When she suggested it, she hadn't realized how cold it was. "So maybe we can just go grab lunch? That way we can talk."

Sylvie arched her eyebrows at her. "Talk? About what?"

Gabby shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Maybe you and Antonio? I can give you suggestions?"

Sylvie laughed but she didn't say anything. She knew Gabby meant well, but she didn't want to involve anyone in her relationship with Antonio. Err, or whatever they were in. She was still confused about that title.

After a while, they made it to the restaurant, and as they got settled in, Gabby looked at Sylvie. "So, you never told me about when Antonio stopped by your house after we went out."

Sylvie laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "I know. But that's because Antonio confused me that night. He was saying how we should stay as friends. But then he couldn't stop looking at me like-" she trailed off.

Gabby laughed. "Yes, please don't finish that sentence. I have to hand it to you though, that dress did come into handy after all."

She smirked and nodded her head. "And I didn't even have to invite Antonio over myself. I'm not even sure I would have. I would have just worn that dress to Molly's one night hoping to run into him."

"So, if he said that, then how the hell did you guys end up together?" Although she wanted details, she hoped Sylvie realized she never wanted to discuss anything personal about her brother.

"I don't know exactly. I text him while he was working asking him to stop by. But he never answered me so I figured he was back to avoiding me. I got dressed in pajamas and was watching a chick flick when he started knocking on my door."

"Please tell me you weren't crying."

"Oh no. Thank god." Sylvie laughed as the waitress placed their food on the table. "I would have been so embarrassed more than I already was."

Gabby laughed but she stayed silent so Sylvie could continue.

"So, I told him that I didn't think he was coming over. But he said that he was in a middle of a case so that's why he didn't text me back. But figured it was okay to stop by since I invited him. He apologized to me about confusing me. He made up some lame excuse about knowing he did because he was also confused but I think we know someone talked to him." She cut her eyes at Gabby, but continued. "He was just telling me how this is all new to him, you know? If anything, I think he's just scared that I'm going to leave him like his ex-wife did. Which I would never do, at least not over his job. My job is just as dangerous. Maybe not as dangerous as his because no one is shooting at me, but every time we get in that ambulance, we're never completely safe. I just told him that I could sort of be like his haven, you know? When his ex-wife is being a bitch and won't let him see his kids. When his job is bringing him down. That was pretty much it. The rest of the night we were just watching movies until he had to go home." She said as she picked up her fork and started eating.

Gabby took in everything that Sylvie was saying and nodded her head. "He just figures that since you're not a cop, you can't say you can handle his life. Because until he gets shot or something happens, he can't be 100% sure. But I do know you. As long as he doesn't make you quit your job and try to become a housewife, you'll never leave him."

Sylvie swallowed her food and laughed. "Yeah, but I doubt Antonio will ever ask me to do that."

Gabby agreed. "I know that. But the real question is does he? Does he know that the only way you would ever leave him is if he disvalues you? Does he have any clue about why you left your ex-fiance?"

"Actually, he left me." Sylvie corrected Gabby.

"Maybe the first time, but didn't Harrison ask you to come home?"

"Well yeah. But the problem with Harrison is that he thought I wasn't strong enough for Chicago."

"Which we know you are." Gabby smirked at her. As hard as it was losing Shay, and there was never a moment she didn't think about her, she was glad that she had Sylvie in her life. "Just talk to him. He opened up to you about his ex-wife. Open up to him."

With that last piece of advice, all Sylvie could do was agree with Gabby.

After her lunch date with Gabby, she dropped Sylvie back at home. Sylvie started to clean up her apartment so when Antonio came by, he wouldn't think she was a mess. She knew telling him about Harrison would make him see that Sylvie wasn't Laura. She would never ask Antonio to quit being a detective. She knew what it was like saving people.

After changing into jeans and a shirt, then pulling her hair in a ponytail, she sat down on the couch, watching TV. Sylvie never thought this would happen for her again. For her to be this excited over a guy coming over to her place. After being in deep thoughts for a little while, she heard a knock on the door and she smiled. She stood up and walked over to the door, opening the door.

"Hey." She said, seeing Antonio standing there, she broke into a smile. But seeing the look on his face, her smile faded. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Antonio walked inside and Sylvie closed the door behind him. He shook his head. "Nothing." He said as he smiled at her. "I don't want to focus on that right now. Just a long day." He confessed.

Sylvie tilted her head to the side. "Tell me that you at least saw your kids."

He nodded his head. "Yes." He took her hands and he sat down on the couch. "It was good until I dropped them off."

Sylvie sighed and she squeezed his hands. "What happened?"

"Just Laura. But I'm okay now that I'm here with you." He smiled softly at her.

"Are you hungry? I can cook us something?" Sylvie offered. With any other guy she was with, she hated cooking for them. But with Antonio it was different. Everything was different with Antonio for some reason.

"No, I'm fine. Unless you're hungry?"

"No. I'm not. I'm good." Sylvie smiled as she leaned against him. "But I think we should talk."

"Good or bad?" He asked, hoping that she wasn't already backing out because of his problems.

"Uh-I don't know. You can be the judge of that." Sylvie said as she leaned over and looked at him. "It's only right that since you opened up to me, I should do the same."

Antonio looked at her and he nodded his head slowly. "Okay. Should I be scared?" He laughed, obviously joking. He knew whatever she had to say wouldn't be terrible.

Sylvie laughed and shook her head. "No. I don't think anyway. You can be the judge of that." She said as she looked down to their hands still tangled together. "I just feel like if I tell you about my ex fiancé then you would see that you can trust me and see that I'm not Laura."

Antonio nodded his head and waited for her to continue. "So with Harrison, all I was to him was a housewife, without the wife title. Every night he came home, dinner was waiting for him at the table. For the longest time, I thought that was what I wanted. But when he left me before we even got married, I don't know, I felt like I was worth more than that. While there are times I don't mind cooking, I just can't-I can't be with a guy that expects me to cook every night. For a guy to expect me to quit my job and turn into this housewife." She saw that he was about to say something and she shook her head. "No, not yet." She smiled when he nodded his head. "I know you would never ask me to do that, just like I would never ask you to quit your job. You're good at it. Just like I'm good at mine. I know being a paramedic and a detective is two different things but every time I go behind the wheel in the ambulance, I'm risking my life. I, of course care about you and I care if you get shot or hurt. However, that is the life you chose. I would never tell anyone on how to choose their life, as long as you give me the same respect back."

Antonio smiled and he took in everything that she was saying. After a few minutes of silence, he began to talk. "So, if you ever cook for me, I should feel special?" He smirked at her.

Sylvie laughed and nodded her head. "Oh, absolutely. But I know I wouldn't mind cooking for you."

He arched his eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Maybe that's because I know you wouldn't expect it every night. Well, I mean it's kind of hard to make dinner for you every night. But you know what I mean."

"You're right, I wouldn't expect it. But I also wouldn't expect us to always sit in the house whenever you're off from work." Antonio smiled at her but then he shook his head. "Look at me just assuming that we're together when I ask you if we can take things slow."

Sylvie laughed as she let go of his hands and placed her hand on his face. "And I only agreed because I thought that's what you wanted."

"I do. I did. I mean-maybe we can take things slow but also at the same time don't go at the speed of a snail." At his comment, she couldn't help but laughed.

"You got it. Whatever you want, you got it."

Antonio smiled at her comment and his expression turned serious. He moved his hand on her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb. He looked deeply in her eyes as he leaned forward. He brushed his lips against hers just getting himself familiarize with her lips. After a few seconds, he deepened the kiss as he moved his other hand on her face. Feeling the need to breathe, they both pulled away and she pressed her forehead against his. "I knew you were a good kisser." She said as she tried to catch her breath.

Antonio smirked at her comment and he nodded his head. He moved his hands off her face and wrapped his arms around her waist. He was content now and it was exactly what he needed right now. He leaned back to check the time and saw that it was getting late. "I guess I should be heading home." He said, not wanting to leave but he knew she needed to get some sleep for work.

Sylvie shook her head and smiled at him. "Or…you can stay the night?" She asked nervously as she bit down on her bottom lip waiting for his answer.

"Are you sure? We are supposed to take things slow."

"Yes. I'm not asking you to stay the night so we can have sex. Just so we can enjoy our company more." He smiled at her offer and he nodded his head.

"Okay, I'll stay the night." Antonio agreed, knowing how hard it would have been to leave her apartment and go back to his.


	5. Chapter 5: Amazing night

**A/N I'm so sorry for taking so long with this chapter. This chapter was so hard because when I saw the sneak peek of the episode 'That Day' I wanted to add in that scene, but I still wanted to add in some drama. So I hope this makes sense LOL. This is slightly M, but not really. However, I hope you enjoy! And again, thank you SO much for the reviews, the follows, and the faves, they mean so much! Also, if you have any suggestions, I'm happy to hear it. I'm also thinking of writing a one-shot of the ice cream date because that seems so cute! lmao anyway...**

"Listen, Laura. No—no." Antonio said shaking his head at what she was saying. "Unlike you at this moment, I'm working. I'm not going out and having fun and ignoring my kids. Well, that's too bad. Fine, whatever, I'll just call Gabby." Antonio placed down the phone a little aggressively and sighed. Honestly, he didn't feel comfortable asking Gabby since she had Louie but she was literally the only person he knew he could ask. Sure, he could have called Sylvie, but that wasn't the way he wanted them to meet. With the recent turn of events he knew sooner rather than later he was going to have sole custody of his kids if Laura didn't knock this bullshit off.

Laura admitted it to him the other day that she has a boyfriend, which he didn't care about it. Especially because he also has a girlfriend. That wasn't the problem, the problem was leaving his kids alone when she went off with him. And then when he wanted them, she made a big fuss about it. It wasn't fair or even made sense. He stood up from his desk, thankful that the others were off elsewhere. The only one here was Voight and he needed to talk to him.

Antonio knocked on his door once and walked inside. He closed the door behind him and he took a deep breath. "Do you think that I can take a few days off for personal reasons?" He asked Voight.

Voight looked up at him with a confused expression but he just nodded his head. "Of course. Even when you got divorced from Laura, you never took time off, so yes." He looked at him suspiciously. "But what is going on?"

"It's Laura. She's dating this guy who is wealthy and they keep traveling, that's not the problem though. She doesn't take the kids with her or anything. It just doesn't make sense because I have to fight with her to see them. So, I have to see if they're okay. They're my kids, Voight. They're my number one priority and they always will be."

Voight nodded his head in agreement. "Of course, Antonio. Are you trying to take her to court? Because I know a few great lawyers that will stop at nothing to get you full custody of the kids."

He heard his question and he shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, we always had problems with custody arrangements, I was just trying to avoid that. But now that she gave up on raising my kids, I'll stop at nothing to make sure they're okay. I know they're old enough to watch themselves, but they don't have to be alone. I was wondering why when I had them the other day, they were giving me attitudes. I could just imagine what she's putting them through, and they probably think I don't care."

"Well, you can take as much time as you need to take care of this. You know this unit has your back."

Antonio nodded his head. "I'll finish out this shift of course. It'll only take me the most 3 days I promise." He didn't want to do this, but at the same time, he wouldn't relax until he knew his kids were getting taken care of.

Sylvie was at Molly's with Gabby while she bartends. She hadn't heard from Antonio in a few days and it was starting to make her miserable. Gabby informed her yesterday that he was taking care of some personal matters, but that didn't make her feel better, only worse.

Gabby looked at Sylvie and shook her head. "Look, I know my brother, and right now he just doesn't want to put you in the position of feeling like you have to be there for him while he's going through this."

Sylvie nodded her head and sighed. "I don't care though. I knew when I started developing feelings for Antonio that he has kids." She picked up her drink and took a sip. "I don't understand how he thinks this relationship is going to work if he doesn't want me to meet his kids."

"But that isn't true. You just have to understand this is all new to Antonio. You're the first woman that he showed any attention to since Laura. When was the last time you saw him?"

Sylvie thought for a moment. "Hmm, Wednesday. He texts me to let me know that he couldn't come to my apartment, and that he'll see me soon. And it's now Friday."

"I know what day it is now." Gabby laughed but then her expression turned serious. "If you want to see Antonio, what is stopping you?" She asked her. "Trust me, he'll be happy to see you."

Sylvie sat there and she nodded her head. "But I feel bad for leaving you."

Ever since Matt and Kelly were fighting, he hasn't been by the bar. So Sylvie has been keeping Gabby occupied.

"It's okay, trust me. No offense, but you're not much company right now." Gabby said with a laugh.

"Gee, thanks." Sylvie laughed as she stood up. "I'll see you at work tomorrow morning."

Gabby nodded her head and watched as Sylvie walked away. She hoped that everything would work out for her sake. Hell, for Gabby's sake too.

When Sylvie walked out of Molly's, she looked down at what she was wearing and sighed. She knew she needed to go to her apartment and changed, and then an idea came to her. Although Antonio wanted to take things slow, she didn't want that. How could anyone want to take things slow with a guy like Antonio Dawson? It was impossible.

She got in her car and she drove over to her apartment. Once she got out, she took out her key and walked up to her apartment building. She opened the door and walked inside. Her plan was to seduce Antonio and hopefully he wouldn't kick her out of his apartment. She knew, though, she had to call him because there was a big chance his kids could be there. That's all she needed, get all dressed and ready for nothing.

Sylvie took out her phone from her purse and she dialed Antonio's number. She sighed in relief when he answered. "Hey. Sorry for not calling you—but things are—yeah. I'm sure Gabby informed you of everything."

Sylvie smiled at his words. "It's okay, really. Are you up for company right now?"

Antonio looked around his apartment and he nodded his head. "Of course. I think we need to talk anyway."

At those words, Sylvie's stomach was in knots. What if he was going to break up with her? That would crush her. "Is-is it bad?"

Antonio laughed. "No, of course not. Everything is okay. We're okay, I promise." He reassured her.

"Okay, good." She laughed nervously. "Hey, are you alone?" She hoped that didn't sound like she didn't want to meet his kids. She obviously did, but she had another plan in mind that would be better if they weren't there.

"Uh—yes. Why?"

"Just asking." She wondered where his kids were at, but decided against asking him that question. "I'll see you-in an hour?"

Antonio smiled. "Okay, see you then." He took the phone from his ear and hit the end button. She sounded a little strange, but figured he was just imagining things.

Once they hung up, she put her phone on the table and she walked into her bathroom.

After taking a shower, she put on her undergarments and looked at herself in the mirror. She thought putting curls in her hair would make her look better. So, she blows dried her hair and after making sure they were perfect, she stared at herself. Her nerves were getting the best of her, but she couldn't back out now since she already told him she was coming. After putting on her boots, and slipping her coat around her, she took a deep breath. "I can do this." The only time Sylvie was ever confident was whenever she was dealing with a patient. Other than that, she wasn't confident at all.

She picked up her keys and phone and placed her phone in her coat. She walked out of her apartment and she walked over to her car. She thought about going inside and putting more makeup on, but then changed her mind. She hated wearing a lot of makeup.

After driving to his apartment for 20 minutes, she parked her car and got out. This was a nice change of events, coming over to his apartment. Only reason she knew where he lived was because Gabby had to stop by his apartment a few times before while after a call.

Sylvie walked inside his apartment building and walked over to the elevator. She felt weird passing people, knowing that all she had on under her coat was underwear. She was practically naked. That thought made her smirked. She walked onto the elevator and pressed the 2nd floor button. As soon as it opened, she walked out and walked over to his door. She took a deep breath. "Okay." She whispered to herself as she brought her fist up and knocked on his door.

A second later, she heard the door opened and Antonio standing there, smiling at her. "Hey there." He was glad that she wasn't mad at him, but looking at her, he realized just then how much he missed her.

Noticing the smile on Antonio's face made her break out in a wide grin. "Hi!" She knew her next move could be critical. "Um— "she began as she placed her hands on his doorframe. "I am a good girl." She said, trying to sound sexy but also confident, which by the tone of her voice was neither.

The look on his face was hysterical, she could tell that he was confused. Seeing as how he told her that he wanted to take things slow. "Okay." He said after a second.

She laughed nervously and then noticed the beer in his hands. Ah, yes, she thought to herself. She needed that. She stepped forward and grabbed it from his hands, and she laughed again noticing the look on his face. "Alright. I'm just—I'm— "she let her voice trailed off as she took a swig of his beer and then handed it back to him. She walked further inside his apartment as he closed the door.

He looked at her suspiciously, wondering where she was going with this. But he didn't want to interrupt her. He leaned against the desk as he looked at her, urging her to continue.

Sylvie looked around his apartment and then back at him. "Where's the kids?" She asked.

Antonio smiled at her question. "Diego is hanging with some friends, so is Eva. It's Friday so they didn't want to stay in."

Sylvie nodded her head, hoping they would stay out for a few hours at least. She smiled at him as she thought about what to say. After a few seconds, she began. "I say my prayers every night. I give a dollar every day to a homeless guy on the off-ramp." She stopped talking when he interrupted her.

"That's very generous." She smiled at his words and then she continued. "I didn't kiss a boy for real until I was 17."

"That's one lucky guy." She smiled, knowing that he truly meant that. Normally Sylvie waited until the guy made a move on her, however, with Antonio she knew he wanted to take his time. Especially because he felt like they could ruin their relationship by moving too fast. But Sylvie couldn't wait, not when he looked like _that._ Not just sexy, although he always did. But just innocent, like he had no clue what she was doing. "And…sex" she began but he interrupted her.

Antonio smiled at her. "Waiting until you get married?" He asked her. She did say that she was a good girl after all so he thought that was where this was headed.

Sylvie laughed and shook her head. She started to unzip her coat. She looked at him and shook her head. "No. Not a chance in hell." She said as she removed the coat from her body.

Once she removed her coat and he could see that she was only wearing undergarments, his eyes filled with desire. "Whoa." He said as he tried to place the beer bottle on the desk but failing miserably. The beer bottle fell to the floor and broke, but neither of them notice, their eyes locked on each other. He made his way over to her as he crashed his lips against hers.

At first the kiss was soft and gentle as they started to get familiarize with each other again. He moved his hands on her back as the kiss started to deepened. All thoughts of wanting to take things slow were erased from his mind.

Sylvie was smiling through the kiss as she realized her plan worked. Antonio may be a gentleman but he was still a man, and every man grew weak at naked women or almost naked women in her case. She moved her hand on his face but then had the sudden urge for his shirt to be off. She moved her hands on his back as she pulled up his shirt.

Antonio moved his hands on his back, helping her lift his shirt. He broke the kiss long enough to pull his shirt over his head.

They smiled at each other before they started kissing again. Sylvie flung her arms around his neck as they started kissing passionately.

Antonio placed his hand on her lower back as he walked her to the sofa, never breaking the kiss. They fell on the sofa as he broke the kiss and started kissing her neck, down to her chest.

Sylvie smiled as she gently pushed him away. He pulled away, looking at her making sure she was okay. "I sang in the church choir too." She said with a smile.

Antonio grinned at her. "Hallelujah to that." He leaned down and he kissed her again.

Sylvie moved over on top of him as she broke the kiss. She smiled at him as she leaned down, kissing him again. She wanted him to know that she didn't normally do this, in case he thought she did this whenever she felt like it. She pulled away from the kiss as she stared in his eyes.

Sylvie moved her thumb on his cheek as she stroked it gently, cupping his face. She moved her thumb down to his chin as she stared into his eyes. "I really like you." She confessed.

Antonio moved his hands into her hair as he stared back into her eyes. "And I really like you too."

Sylvie smiled at his words as she leaned and kissed him again. She moved her hands into his hair as he pulled away from the kiss, needing air. He moved his lips on her neck as she bit on her bottom lip.

"Maybe…we should take this to your bedroom?" She asked. If his kids didn't live here, she wouldn't have said anything, but the last thing she needed was for them to walk in on them.

Antonio pulled away from her neck and looked at her. He nodded his head. "Of course." He said as he picked her up and carried her into his bedroom, shutting the door with his shoes.

The next day, Sylvie woke up to her alarm going off. She sighed as she opened her eyes, but then smiled when she felt Antonio's arm around her. She tried to get out of his embrace without waking him up. But that plan failed when she felt his arm wrapped around her waist. She squealed in surprise.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

"I noticed." Antonio said as he finally opened his eyes, looking at her. "You know, I didn't really take you for the kind of girl to have sex and leave the next morning at— "he looked at the clock. "5 in the morning."

Sylvie laughed as she laid back down next to him. "I have to go to work."

"What time do you have to be in?" Antonio asked as he pulled her closer to him.

"At 7 am." She saw the look in his eyes and she felt like she had to explain on why she was leaving early. "I have to go home and take a shower."

"I do have a shower here, you know." Antonio said with a laugh.

"I know. But I don't have my shampoo or my lotion here. Besides, we both know if I stay here, I'm just going to be late for work." Sylvie leaned over and kissed him quickly.

"It's okay anyway." Antonio said as the kiss ended. "I have to go back to work today."

"I meant to ask you before I sort of got distracted-or well we both did." She laughed. "How is everything going with the kids?"

Antonio sighed as he shrugged his shoulders. "The kids are great here. At least with them here I know they're okay. But Laura is giving me hell. She's telling me that she misses them and wants them back, but I just feel like she takes advantage of the nanny. These are our kids, and she's running off with her boyfriend every chance she gets."

Sylvie listened to him and she nodded her head. "Well, what does the kids want?"

"They already said they want to stay here with me. It's no secret they hate my job, but they know whenever I'm not working, I'm going to be here. Unless I'm with you, but they know I'm not going to run off with you and leave them alone." Antonio took a deep breath. "It's saddens me cause Laura used to be a great mother when we were together. Even after the divorce, she was great with them. That's why I never did this. I figured they needed their mother more than me, especially cause I'm always working anyway."

Sylvie nodded her head. "They seem like amazing kids. And it isn't like they are young and need you every second of the day. It'll work out, I promise."

Antonio smiled and he nodded his head. "They are amazing." He started to get silent but then he thought of something. "You know, they already know about you. So why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow night so they can officially meet you?"

Sylvie looked at him as she placed her hand on his face. "Of course. If they're okay with that. And if you are too."

Antonio nodded his head. "I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't." He smiled as he leaned in and gave her a kiss. He pulled away and grinned at her. "Amazing night last night."

"It really was." She agreed with him as she stood up and started putting on her underwear and bra. "Sad to see it end though."

"But you'll be back here tomorrow night." He said as he stood up, pulling on his boxers as she pulled her coat over her body. Antonio started laughing as he walked over to her. "I can't believe you seduced me." He shook his head.

Sylvie groaned as she covered her face with her hands. "Why do you have to say it like that?"

He laughed as he walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her. "I just find it amusing, that's all. Luckily I'm not the type of guy to have sex and tell my friends. Never was."

Sylvie laughed as she moved her hands to her side. "That's because you're amazing." She said as she leaned up, giving him a kiss. After a few seconds, she pulled away, placing her hands on his chest. "I don't regret what I did. You needed the distraction, and I needed you to see that taking things slow was a waste of time. With my ex-fiancé, I waited to have sex with him, and look where that relationship went."

Antonio laughed as she removed her hands from his chest, putting on her boots. "You're just a good girl. Well, not last night." He smirked. "So, I didn't want you to think that I just wanted you for sex."

After she put on her boots, she stood up and shook her head. "We are in a relationship, after all." She said as she walked out of his room and into the living room. She noticed the beer bottle on the floor as she laughed. "You might want to clean that up." She suggested as she looked over at him. "Be careful today, okay?"

Antonio nodded his head. "I will, I promise. You too." He said as he leaned forward and gave her a kiss. At first it was just a soft kiss, but then the kiss deepened. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. After a few seconds, she pulled away from the kiss. "I—uh-have to go. Before I'm late-or before we take this back to the bedroom." She grinned as she gave him a quick kiss.

Sylvie opened the door as she looked back at him. She gave him a smile as she walked into the hallway and then she walked to the elevator. "Hey, Sylvie!" He called after her. She turned her head to look back at him. "Thank you." She nodded her head as she smiled widely at him.

As she disappeared from the hallway, he took a deep breath and he closed the door. After cleaning up the beer bottle, he headed back in his bedroom to get at least another hour of sleep. Of course, he knew that would never happen seeing as his mind was focus on Sylvie and the amazing night they had together.


	6. Chapter 6: Falling

**A/N Sorry I meant to get this updated by last night, but I wasn't feeling well. I know I promised drama and it is certainly coming. I wanted Sylvie to meet the kids in this one since they are all going to play a huge role in the next few chapters. Enjoy! Also, thank you SO much for the reviews. It means SO much to me.**

An hour later, Sylvie walked in the firehouse with a big smile on her face. She was trying so hard to look normal but that was failing since as soon as Gabby noticed her, she walked over to her.

"What's got you so happy this early in the morning?" Gabby asked her suspiciously.

"Hey, you know that I'm just a happy person." Sylvie said as she turned and walked in the locker room. Although she got dressed at home in her uniform, she didn't have time to do her hair.

"I would buy that if I didn't see how sad you looked last night." Gabby said as she followed after her.

"I was not sad!" She said, defending herself. "I was just tired."

Gabby laughed as she checked the locker room, making sure it was empty. She turned her attention to Sylvie who was busy putting her hair into a braid. "Last time I heard you were going to see Antonio."

"I did." Sylvie smiled having flashbacks of the night. But knowing that Gabby wouldn't want to hear the details, she stayed quiet.

"You slept with him." She laughed, saying it matter-of-factly.

Sylvie looked over at Gabby when she was done with her hair as she tried to think of something to say.

"Just say yes or no, and then we can drop it. Because while you are my best friend Sylvie, that is my brother and just-gross." Gabby said with a look of disgust on her face.

Sylvie laughed and she nodded her head. "Yes, I did. God, you probably think I'm a slut or something. But don't worry the kids weren't there."

Gabby laughed and she shrugged her shoulders. "You both are adults, and you guys are in a relationship. Besides, it isn't like you do this daily." Gabby's face expression turned serious. "I'm really happy for you guys." She said as she gave her a hug, which Sylvie reciprocal.

As soon as the hug ended, the alarm went off and they both ran off to the ambo.

A few hours later, they all walked inside the firehouse, exhausted and ready for lunch.

Sylvie stopped when she saw Antonio waiting at the table. She wondered if he was here if her or Gabby but then realized it was for her when he stood up with a bag in his hand. He walked over to her as he smiled at her.

"I brought lunch if you're free."

Seeing the smile on his face, and knowing it was all for her, she felt her stomach get all tingly. She nodded her head. "Of course." She smiled as she led him to the break room. She ignored all the looks she got from everyone. She was just blissfully happy that he was here with her right now.

As they sat down and he started taking the sandwiches from the bag, she smiled at him. "I thought you had work today?" She asked him.

Antonio nodded his head. "I'm at work now. Just on break. So, I can't stay for long."

Sylvie nodded her head as she picked up the water bottle he slid over to her and she opened the cap. She took a sip as she started to feel self-conscious about last night and she didn't know why.

"Hey." She heard Antonio spoke that broke her out of her thoughts. She turned her attention to him. "We were kind of busy last night" he began with a smile, "But I just want to apologize for sort of going MIA for a few days. You didn't deserve that."

Sylvie leaned her hand over and took his hand in hers. "Hey, you were just going through a lot. You warned me of everything you're going through. It's okay. What matters now is that you're here."

Antonio smiled at her and he squeezed her hand. "Oh and good news, the kids slept over their friend's house last night."

Sylvie laughed. "Thank god for the weekends."

Antonio laughed and he nodded his head. He let go of her hand as he picked up his sandwich and started eating. Although he usually just grabbed pizza for the team, he just wanted to see her today.

After they were finished eating, Antonio looked down at his watch and he sighed. "I guess I should get going."

Sylvie nodded her head as they both stood up. He threw away the trash and then he walked over to her. "Walk me out?" He asked.

"Of course." Sylvie said with a smile. Antonio grabbed her hand and he walked out of the break room and then out of the firehouse.

"We're still on for tomorrow night, right?" Antonio asked, and Sylvie could swear that he looked nervous, like she was about to change her mind.

Sylvie nodded her head as she smiled at him. She could tell that after her head nod he started to relax. "I'm just-nervous. I never met a boyfriend's kids before." She confessed.

They stopped in front of his truck as he let go her hand. He placed his hand on her face, cupping her face. "Don't be. They already know that we're dating." He shrugged his shoulders. "Can't really hide anything from kids, especially Eva." He said with a laugh. "It'll be fine, I promise." He said as he leaned in and gave her a kiss. "I'll see you then?"

Sylvie smiled and she nodded her head. "Of course." He was about to walk away when she grabbed his jacket, pulling him back to her.

"Everything okay?" He asked her, his face showing concerned.

Sylvie nodded her head as she leaned in and kissed him again, this time the kiss was deeper. After a few seconds, she pulled away from the kiss. They were both breathing heavily, she smirked at him. "Just something to get you-well us by until tomorrow night."

Antonio laughed and he nodded his head. He leaned down and he kissed her cheek. "I'll text you later, okay?"

Sylvie nodded her head and watched as he walked away and stepped inside his truck. She gave him a small wave as he pulled away and then she walked back inside the firehouse. She saw everyone looking at her and she shrugged. "What?"

All they did was laughed and then went back to whatever they were doing. Stella walked over to Sylvie, smirking at her. "I knew something was going on between you two."

Sylvie laughed and shook her head. Before she could say anything back the alarm went off again.

Stella ran out of the firehouse but looked back at Sylvie. "I want the details later, girl!" She called out to her as Sylvie ran over to the ambo, getting in.

After her shift was over, all she wanted to do was sleep. She was walking out of the firehouse when Stella asked her what she was doing later. Sylvie couldn't help but smiled. "Having dinner with Antonio and his kids."

Stella looked over at her, smirking. "Already, huh? He must be serious about you."

"It's just that now his kids live with him, I don't think he wants to keep it a secret." Suddenly, Sylvie stopped in her tracks which concerned Gabby while she was walking out with Matt.

"Hey, Sylvie. What's wrong?" Gabby asked her.

"It's too soon, right? I mean, meeting his kids? I know I told him I was good with kids and I usually am, but then again when I meet kids, I'm not dating their father." She sighed as she started walking again.

"I was just kidding, Sylvie." Stella said. "Obviously, Antonio thinks it is the right time or else he wouldn't have said anything. Right, Gabby?" Stella cut her eyes at Gabby, begging her to agree with her, which luckily Gabby understood the hint.

"Oh yeah, of course. Look Sylvie, Antonio hasn't been with anyone since his divorce. If he wants to take this step, then he is serious about you. And the kids, they're going to love you. You just have to understand that with the way their mom's boyfriend treats them, they may have a wall up first. But my niece and nephew are amazing, and I'm not saying that because I'm their aunt. It'll be okay." Gabby said as she put her hand on her shoulder. "You'll have Antonio there the entire time to back you up."

Sylvie started to relax and she nodded her head. "Okay, thanks guys. I'll see you in 24 hours." She said as she got into her car and then pulled away.

Before she started to get ready for their dinner tonight, she needed to sleep for a few hours. It was a little busy last night, but not much so she managed to get some sleep in. However, she still needed some more energy to get her through the rest of the day and the evening.

As she pulled up in front of her apartment and was getting out of her car, she heard her phone go off. She took her phone out as she shut her car door. She smiled seeing the text from Antonio.

 **Hey. I know you're probably sleeping. But just wanted to let you know that I'm excited for tonight. Can't wait to see you ox**

Sylvie smiled as she unlocked her door and walked inside. She kicked off her shoes by the door and then she walked into her bedroom. She changed into her shorts and t-shirt and then climbed into her bed.

Although she was nervous and excited for tonight, the stress of her shift caused her to pass out right away.

After sleeping for a couple of hours, Sylvie opened her eyes and saw the time on her clock that said '1:00'. She rubbed her eyes to fully wake up knowing that she had to start getting ready. She already knew what she was going to wear, but she was stuck on how she wanted to do her hair. Up, or down, she didn't know.

She grabbed her phone to see if she missed any phone calls. Seeing that no one called her, she placed her phone down and got up. She also wasn't sure if she should show up to his apartment with nothing. Deciding that she could always make her famous cookies. She hadn't made those since she moved to Chicago.

After Sylvie took a shower and put on her dress, she looked at herself in the mirror. The dress wasn't anything stylish, it was mostly just a causal dress. As she looked at her hair, she had no clue on how to wear it. But then she decided maybe she should curl it.

She already was finished with the cookies and she placed them in a container. She hoped they would enjoy the cookies, but she was sure they would.

As she was finished curling her hair, she couldn't help but think the curls came out better than they ever did before. She smiled, but then she thought about doing something a little different with the curls, different and the same pretty much. She moved her hand up in her hair and she started doing a braid horizontally across her head. The braid was tight, but that was the way it had to be so that it wouldn't fall when she was walking or even after a couple of hours. She smiled at herself, knowing that she looked good. Not good in the way she looked the other night, of course not. But good in a way that she looked clean.

About an hour later, Sylvie walked up to Antonio's door and she took a deep breath. All she kept thinking about was Gabby's words and how the kids would have a wall up. She hoped these cookies would prove to the kids that although she was dating their dad, she wasn't trying to take him away from them too.

After getting enough courage, she knocked on the door, waiting for him to answer. A few seconds went by and the door opened. She beamed at Antonio.

"Hey. I wasn't sure what to bring, so I just made cookies."

Antonio shook his head as he smiled at her. "You know you didn't have to bring anything." He said as he stepped to the side so she could walk inside.

"I know. But I didn't feel right coming here empty-handed." She confessed as she removed her coat and handed it to him.

Antonio walked over and placed her coat on the back of the chair. He nodded his head as he walked back over to her. He leaned forward and he gave her a kiss. "You look beautiful." He said as soon as he pulled away from the kiss.

"You don't look so bad yourself." She said as she looked him over. Although he was just wearing a t-shirt and jeans, he still looked sexy. She shook her head from the thoughts. She handed him the container of cookies. "I don't know if the kids will like the cookies, but everyone used to love my cookies back home."

Antonio smiled and he grabbed the container from her and he walked in the kitchen. "I'm sure they'll love it." He placed the container on the kitchen table and he looked over at her. "Dinner will be done soon. Let me go get the kids, okay?"

Sylvie took a deep breath and she watched as Antonio disappeared into their rooms. She bit down on her lip as she walked into the living room, hoping this goes well. She knew Antonio wouldn't break up with her if the kids didn't take a liking to her at the beginning, but she also knew it would be better for everyone's sakes if they did.

A few seconds later, Eva and Diego walked out of their rooms with Antonio behind them. She noticed the little smiles on their faces and she started to relax a little bit. Antonio walked over to Sylvie and placed his hand on her lower back, knowing how nervous she was.

"Eva, Diego, this is Sylvie Brett."

Sylvie smiled warmly at the kids and she stuck out her hand for them to shake. Eva was the first one to shake her hand and then Diego. They were both smiling at her, which to her seem like a good sign. She started to get nervous when Eva kept staring at her hair. Maybe she shouldn't have wore it like this.

"I love your hair!" Eva exclaimed. "I always try to do it before school but I get frustrated and end up giving up."

Sylvie laughed and she nodded her head. "It takes time to do. Not so much for me anymore since I'm used to it. But it can be hard. Whenever you want me to do it, I can do it for you."

With that comment, Antonio smiled knowing that Sylvie got Eva to love her.

Eva eyes widened in surprise. "Really? You wouldn't mind?"

"Of course not." Sylvie said as she smiled softly at her.

"Can you do it for me tomorrow?"

Sylvie looked over at Antonio with a smile and then she turned her attention back to Eva. "Of course."

Eva smiled as she walked over to her dad and whispered in his ear. "I like her." Antonio smiled at her and he nodded his head.

Diego was a little harder to crack because although he loved his dad and wanted him to be happy, he felt like if he started to like Sylvie, he was betraying his mother.

Sylvie decided to break the silence. "If you guys like cookies, I made cookies. They are in the kitchen." She said which earned a smile from Diego and he and Eva walked in the kitchen.

"Eva likes you." Antonio smiled at her as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"But Diego doesn't." Sylvie frowned at the thought.

"Hey, it has nothing to do with you. They're both just going through a lot right now, with their mother and everything. Eva would be the same way if she wasn't excited for the new hair style."

Sylvie laughed and she nodded her head. "Okay." She said to her boyfriend as she leaned her head on his chest. "He does remind me of you though. They both do."

Antonio was about to say something when they walked in the living room, smiling. "These are really good." Diego complimented which Eva also agreed. "They are!"

"Then I'm glad I decided to make it." The timer on the oven went off and Antonio removed his arm from around her waist.

Antonio looked at Sylvie and he smiled at her as he walked in the kitchen.

Eva was the first one to break the silence. "We're happy we finally got to meet you. We knew about you before our dad even told us. Well, maybe not who you were." She said with a laugh. "But he was constantly checking his phone. He always tried to blame it on a case he was working on. But we knew better."

Sylvie laughed and she nodded her head. "He's very happy that you guys are here."

With that comment, they both smiled.

"He may be happy we're here, but you're the reason why he always has a smile on his face. Especially all day today." Diego said with an amuse tone in his voice.

Eva nodded her head, agreeing. "Yeah, it's kind of gross." They all laughed, which made Sylvie feel better. She knew they were going through a lot, especially with the divorce. She knew that feeling all too well since her parents were also divorced. She felt like since they were all laughing, it was a good start.

A few seconds later, Antonio walked in the living room announcing that dinner was done.

It was a few hours later, Eva and Diego were in their room playing with their phones or video games. Sylvie was exhausted, but it was a good kind of exhaustion.

Antonio and Sylvie were sitting on the sofa, with his arm around her. She looked over at him and smiled. "That went good. At least better than I expected."

Antonio nodded his head. "I told you it'll be okay. If they didn't just go through that ordeal with Laura and her boyfriend, they would have opened up to you more."

Sylvie looked over at him, noticing the look in his eyes. She moved her hand up to the nape of his neck, rubbing it gently. "Hey, it's okay. Sometimes talking about it can help."

"One thing I always said when me and Laura got divorced was at least I know she'll always be a good mom. I never worried about my kids' safety or well-being. I understand when she went off with her boyfriend, my kids weren't technically alone since the nanny was there, however, it still isn't fair to them."

Sylvie nodded her head, agreeing with him. "I know. But they're here now, and at least now you know they're safe."

"They still need their mother. I honestly have no clue the last time they talked to her."

"That's on her, Antonio. The only job you have as their father, is for you to be there for them."

"You should have seen the look on her face when I went there and confronted her. It killed me to walk out with the kids because they all been together for a long time. But at least now she can do what she wants. Of course, whenever they want to see her, they can."

Sylvie nodded her head as she laid her head on his shoulder. "You did the right thing. Sometimes the hardest thing is the right thing."

Antonio nodded his head as he moved his hands on her back, rubbing it gently. "I know."

Sylvie felt like the mood was lowering, so she lifted her head and smiled at him. "You know, it's really sexy seeing a side of you that no one else gets to see." Sylvie smirked as she leaned forward and kissed him.

Antonio wrapped his arms around her waist as she climbed over on his lap and straddled his waist. He deepened the kiss, as she ran her hands under his shirt and started teasing his skin with her fingernails.

Needing air, he pulled away and he looked at her. "You're staying the night, right?"

Sylvie smiled at him breathlessly. "Yeah. I told Eva I would do her hair in the morning." Although she knew regardless, she was going to spend the night if he asked.

Antonio smirked. "Like that's the only reason you're spending the night." With thoughts of his kids in the same apartment as them, he realized they needed to take this in the bedroom. "I'm going to check on the kids and then I'll meet you in the bedroom, okay?"

Sylvie smiled and she gave him another kiss before she stood up. She did want to take her hair out before they got into bed anyway because if she kept this braid in, it will cause her a headache in the morning.

Once she walked into the bathroom and took out her braid, she smiled at herself in the mirror. Although it would take some time for the kids to trust her, she knew it would be okay.

After she was done with taking out her braid, she walked out of the bathroom and she walked in the bedroom. She stood there in the bedroom, watching him as he was laying down on the bed. After a few seconds, she smiled at him. "The kids okay?"

Antonio smiled at her as he reached his hand out to her. She removed her heels as she walked over to him and took a hold of his hand. She squealed as he pulled her down on the bed. "The kids are fine. They're just getting ready for school tomorrow. Now, let's just focus on us right now because we both have work tomorrow."

Sylvie nodded her head as she moved her hand on his face. Her eyes locked with his and she realized something. Although they only been dating a few short weeks, whenever they were apart, it killed her. Not in the depressed way where she didn't want to talk to anyone, of course. But in the way, that whenever she was alone, she was missing him terribly. And when they were together, not only was she incredibly happy, but the time just flew by when they were together. She wasn't a fool, she knew that their age difference could be a problem, but only if they allow it. She realized that she, Sylvie Brett, was falling for Antonio Dawson.

Antonio looked at her, his face showing concerned. "Hey, are you okay?"

Sylvie smiled and she nodded her head. "More okay than I have been in a long time." She said as she moved her hands down to the hem of his shirt and lifted his shirt over his head, with his help.


	7. Chapter 7: Can't lose you

**A/N Kind of a long one that took all day to write lol. I had this idea in my head for the longest so I'm happy I got to finally write it out. I'm not too happy about the end result, but it'll do :) Thank you SO much for the reviews, favs, and follows. I'll try to update tomorrow but I'm back to school tomorrow :( well Enjoy! :)**

Sylvie woke up the next morning with Antonio's arm tightly wrapped around her. She couldn't remember a time that she was this happy, and she didn't want this feeling to end anytime soon.

Feeling her stir, Antonio opened his eyes and he smiled at her. "Good morning baby." He leaned forward and he gave her a kiss.

"Good morning." She replied after the kiss ended. "I should start bringing extra clothes when I come over here." She laughed as she climbed out of bed.

Antonio looked over at her, his eyebrows raised. "No point on doing that when they just come off anyway." He laughed as he stretched, knowing he had to get dressed and take the kids to school soon.

Sylvie laughed as she shook her head. "Shut up." She said as she placed on her undergarments and she slipped on her dress. "What time does Eva wake up?" She asked.

Antonio looked over at the clock and he shrugged his shoulders. "She's usually up early. You don't have to do her hair if you don't want to. She won't get mad. Besides, you have to go to work. Just do it some other time."

Sylvie scoffed. "Because I want her to think that I don't keep my promises. It won't take long anyway." She offered him a smile and after she was dressed, she walked over to him. "Great night last night."

Antonio smiled as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her on top of him. "Oh yeah, great night." He agreed as he leaned down and placed kisses along her neck.

"Antonio…" she moaned out. "Now you're going to make me late."

Antonio chuckled and he pulled away from her neck. "Fine." He watched as she got up and he stood up from the bed. He slid on his boxers and he looked at her. "Coming back over after work?"

Sylvie nodded her head. "Of course. When don't I?"

"Wait-you're not mad because I don't go to your apartment, are you?" He asked, his face expression showing concerned.

"No. Your kids are here. It doesn't matter anyway if I come here, or if you come to my apartment. As long as we're together, that's all that matters to me." She smiled as she leaned forward and gave him a kiss. "Let me see if Eva is awake."

Sylvie walked out of the room and was heading towards Eva's room when she saw the door opening. "Hey. I was just seeing if you're awake. You want me to do your hair now?"

Eva smiled and she nodded her head excitedly. "Yes. My dad will kill me though if we hog the bathroom so I'm going to go get the things from the bathroom."

Sylvie laughed and she nodded her head as she watched Eva stalked off to the bathroom. She could just imagine how bad it sucked living in an apartment with two guys, but she seemed to handle it well. She walked in her bedroom and noticed that she had good taste on how she decorated it. A few seconds later, she heard her come into the room with the things and she smiled at her.

"I love my mom, but she only knows how to do a few hairstyles so she could never teach me any." Eva said as she set everything on her desk and began to organize everything. She laughed internally realizing how much she reminded her of Antonio.

"I had to learn because I get bored of hairstyles fast. With being a paramedic, I just keep my hair in a braid, it's easier. But then when I go out, I try to do something different each time." She noticed that although she was living with Antonio for right now, she could tell she wasn't mad at all with Laura. Maybe it was because deep down she always wanted to live with Antonio. She couldn't tell.

"Well good thing you learned. And good thing you're with my dad now. I'm not asking you to do my hair every morning though—don't worry." She said with a laugh.

"Oh no, it's okay. It's nice to show off my skills to someone else." She smiled softly at her.

After Eva was done setting everything up, she sat down on the chair as Sylvie stood over her.

"So-"Eva began. "How serious are you and my dad?"

Sylvie laughed uncomfortably. She was even uncomfortable talking about this to Gabby, so talking to this about Eva was even more uncomfortable.

"I was just asking." She said. "Ever since my mom and dad divorced, I haven't met any of his girlfriends. Maybe because he was too devoted to work. I don't know."

Sylvie noticed the curling iron was getting warmer so she started curling her hair. "Or maybe he was with someone but it just wasn't serious?" She offered as an explanation.

Eva laughed and she shrugged her shoulders. "Possibly. But then again, if he acted the same way he did about you, I would have noticed."

Sylvie laughed and she nodded her head. "Well, to answer your question, I would like to think we're serious."

Eva nodded her head then her expression turned serious. "Just don't hurt him, okay? I love my mom and I understand her reasoning for the divorce but I just never agreed with them."

Sylvie smiled and she nodded her head. "I won't, I promise." She was all done with curling her hair, and now all she had to do was braid it. "So, how about you? Have a crush on anyone?"

Eva laughed and she shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure-if I should tell you."

"Hey, come on. I may be dating your dad, but anything you tell me, will stay between us. Unless there is something I need to tell him. Like if you're in danger or anything like that." Although Sylvie could already tell how close she and Eva would be, her loyalty would always lie with Antonio, and she wanted Eva to understand that.

"It's nothing anything serious right now. Just a crush. I'm just trying to focus on school." Eva said and Sylvie nodded her head. In a way, Eva reminded Sylvie of herself. Sylvie always worried about school and tried not to worry about guys much. Of course, there were a few boys that broke through her wall, but in every sense of the word, Sylvie was a good girl and she didn't sleep with any guys until she was in college.

After a few minutes, she was done braiding her hair. "Is it tight?"

Eva shook her head. "No, it's perfect." She smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror. "Ah, I love it!" She exclaimed as she stood up and hugged Sylvie. "Thank you so much!"

Sylvie hugged her back and she smiled at her. "I'll see you after my shift, okay?" She said as she pulled away from the hug. "Have a good day at school."

Eva smiled and she nodded her head as Sylvie opened her door and walked out of the room. She was about to walked into Antonio's room to say bye to him when she noticed him walking out.

"Hey." He said as he smiled and walked over to her.

"Hey. I'll see you later, okay?" She was running a little late, and she still had to go home and take a shower.

Antonio nodded his head and he leaned down and kissed her. "Be careful today."

Sylvie nodded her head. "You too." She gave him another kiss and then she walked over and slipped on her coat. She hated saying goodbye and she especially hated knowing that she had to go through these long hours of not seeing him.

After she slipped on her coat, she walked over to the door with Antonio behind her. Once she opened the door, she turned her head and smiled at him. "Thank you for dinner last night. Next time, it's my turn to cook."

Antonio smiled and he gave her a kiss. "Whenever you want to cook dinner, you most certainly can."

Sylvie smiled as she placed her hand on his chest. After a few seconds, she gave him a last smile before she walked away and headed for the elevators.

After an hour, she pulled up to the firehouse and she got out of the car, rushing into the firehouse. How she made it in on time was beyond her. But she was so happy that she did. She walked over to where Stella and Gabby were sitting and she sat down next to them.

"Hey guys." She said, feeling her stomach growling. Her face turned red in embarrassment as she bit down on her lip.

"Does my brother even feed you?" Gabby laughed.

"It's not that, it's just I had to go home and take a shower before work so I couldn't eat."

"Why don't you just bring clothes to his house?" Stella asked confused.

"You knew how tense I was yesterday morning, I just forgot." Sylvie said as she stood up and walked over to the kitchen, making herself a bowl of cereal. When she returned to the table, Gabby was gone.

"Where did Gabby go?" She asked as she picked up her spoon and started eating.

"Matt needed her help with something." With that explanation, Sylvie just nodded her head. She wasn't paying attention to anything going on around her, just focusing on eating and thinking about Antonio when she felt eyes on her. She glanced up when she noticed Stella staring at her.

"What?" Sylvie asked, confused. "What is it?"

"You slept with him!" She said in a hushed tone. Sylvie was glad for that because she didn't need the whole firehouse to know her business, well her sex life.

"Stella, not here, not right now. Please." She wanted to tell her friend everything, especially because she couldn't tell Gabby anything. Which she couldn't blame Gabby since Antonio was her brother. Flashback of the first night she and Antonio slept together made Sylvie break out in a huge grin.

"Fine. How about Molly's tomorrow night? Can you be away from Antonio for an hour?"

Sylvie laughed. "What do you think, we need to be together every time we have free time?" She began eating again and after a few minutes, she was done. "But yes, I can make it to Molly's."

Before Stella could respond, the alarm went off and they hurried off.

A few hours later, Sylvie walked in the firehouse and she sat down at the table, feeling like something was wrong. Gabby and Matt sat down too, and Gabby, noticing the look on her face, grew concerned.

"Brett, are you okay?"

Sylvie heard Gabby's voice and she smiled slightly at her. She nodded her head. "I think. I don't know what's wrong. It's probably nothing." She smiled as she stood up and walked away. She couldn't put her finger on what was wrong, but she wanted to talk to Antonio.

Since it was lunch time, she hoped that they were all eating or something so she wouldn't have interrupted him during undercover or what not. She took out her phone and she dialed Antonio's number. She sighed a breath of relief silently when she heard his voice.

"Hey." He said, sounding surprised. "Are you okay?"

Sylvie laughed, realizing how silly this all was. She was a paramedic, and she just returned from an intense call, so of course she was still recovering from that. "Yes. Sorry, I know you're busy. I just wanted to hear your voice."

Antonio smiled as he started to relax, knowing she was okay. "No, don't apologize, it's okay. I'm sorry, I would bring lunch for you, but we're working on a big case right now-"

Before he could finish the sentence, she interrupted him. "No, you don't have to explain. I'll see you when I get off my shift, okay? Be careful please." She was feeling better than what she was feeling, but she still felt weird. She just hoped it would pass soon.

"Of course baby. You be careful too. Bye." As soon as she hung up the phone, she walked back in the room and she noticed the look on Gabby's face. She smiled at her and nodded her head at her to let her know that everything was okay.

Maybe she was just paranoid, especially because after the talk she had with Eva. And especially after realizing last night that she was falling for Antonio, it just made her realize how dangerous his job was. Obviously, she would never do what Laura did to him, not at all. She respected his job, and knew how great he was at being a detective.

The rest of the day went by slowly. They had a few calls but nothing too intense. It was around midnight when she was sitting in front of the TV, eating ice cream when she felt someone sit down next to her. She smiled when she saw Gabby.

"Hey." Sylvie said, in a better mood than she was earlier. Not that she was in a bad mood earlier, but she was feeling a lot better.

"Hey. Are you feeling better?" Gabby asked.

"Yes. It was weird because it was a feeling I used to get when I was starting out as a paramedic and big accidents used to happen. I haven't had those in a long time. But I'm better now." Sylvie explained to Gabby.

"It was probably just that intense call from the morning. It can happen." Gabby said. After a few minutes of silence, Gabby broke it. "You know, I am happy that you're with Antonio. I know it may not seem like I'm supportive but-"

Sylvie waved her hand to let Gabby know she understood. "Hey, it was totally unexpected. If it took us by surprise, I know it was the same for everyone else."

Gabby looked at her, studying her face for a few seconds when she gasped. "Oh my god, you're in love with him."

Sylvie looked over at her as she shook her head, but she didn't deny nor confirm it. But after a few minutes, she took a deep breath. "I don't know Gabby. I mean, I know that I never felt this happy before. When I'm with Antonio, I'm so incredibly happy. And when we're apart, I literally feel like I'm lost. And not in the way where I'm neglecting my friends, or where I'm doing a bad job at work, but when I get a moment alone, I just really miss him. But love? It's just way too soon."

Gabby laughed and she shook her head. "Time doesn't dictate on love. You can fall in love within an hour or two weeks." Gabby, knowing that Sylvie was uncomfortable with this topic, decided to change it. "How was last night?"

Sylvie broke out in a wide grin. "It was good. Eva loved the way I had my hair and wanted me to do hers this morning. Diego, he's hard to break. But it seems like they really did take a liking to me. Thank god. I know Antonio wouldn't break up with me over the kids not liking me because he knows I didn't do anything wrong. I just feel better knowing they do."

Gabby smiled at her. "Good." They both turned their attention back to the television as they were both deep in thought.

"Antonio!" Jay said in a hissed tone. Where the hell was he at? He felt like this was a set up and he didn't have a good feeling about this. He jumped when he felt someone's hands on his shoulder.

"Come on man, let's get out of here." Antonio said, and with that Jay agreed. But unfortunately, that wouldn't be so easy.

When they were moving to get out of the warehouse, he felt someone behind him. Both he and Jay stayed frozen in place when someone told them not to move. "I swear if you move, you will die." The man they have been chasing for hours said. How the hell did this situation turned so tense? And where the hell was Voight?

Antonio looked over at Jay and he turned around, standing in front of Jay. "Listen, you'll have a better chance of getting out of here if you only have one cop as a hostage, not two. Let my partner go." Antonio said, knowing no way in hell would this guy get out of here alive with just one cop, but a little manipulation would never hurt anyone.

Jay immediately turned down that offer. "No, Dawson! I'm not leaving you!"

"Don't try to be a hero, no one is getting out of here unless you have my cash." The guy spat out at Antonio.

Antonio turned around to face him, holding his hands up in surrender. "I will personally make sure you get the money if you let my partner go."

"Dawson, forget it, man. I'm not leaving you."

"So, you're the man in charge, huh, Dawson?" The guy laughed. "Your partner can go then."

Antonio turned around and looked at Jay, letting him know that when he got out to tell Voight to call for backup. As far as anyone knew right now, they were just looking. He wouldn't have been adamant on letting Jay go if they knew.

Feeling defeated, Jay nodded his head. He knew Antonio could take care of himself, but he didn't have a good feeling about this. But he was going to make sure Dawson got out as fast as he could.

When Jay left, Antonio turned his attention back to the guy. The guy still had his gun aimed at Antonio. "Just lower your gun. What do you think is going to happen if you shoot a cop? That they're still going to cut you a deal? They won't."

As soon as Jay ran out, he ran over to Voight. "It was a set up! Why did you leave us in there?! We need to get Antonio out of there! NOW!"

Voight looked over at Jay. "We already know, Jay. We told Antonio to get out of there because we knew." Voight turned his attention to the warehouse.

Jay, knowing this, knew that Antonio played him because he wanted Jay to be out safe. "What!?" He said, pissed off now. "We need to get to him!"

Voight turned his attention back to Jay. "Do you think this is the first time Antonio had to deal with this? He knows what he is doing. We're trying our best to get to him, but right now, we need to trust Antonio."

: Back in the warehouse:

Antonio knew soon he would need to make a move, but all his thoughts were on Sylvie and the promised he made her. "You don't have to do this. Just walk out with me, and this can all be over."

"Over?" The guy laughed. "Then I'll be in jail for the rest of my life. Right now, if I kill you, I have nothing to lose!"

Antonio shook his head. He was inching closer to the guy, but he wasn't backing away. He thought this was his chance right now to grab the gun and lock up the guy. Without the guy realizing it he took his own gun out of his waistband and he walked closer to the guy. But before he could get closer, he heard a gunshot and then his neck started hurting. He dropped his gun on the ground as he moved his hand on his neck, noticing blood. He fell on the ground, losing consciousness.

: Outside:

Jay heard the shot and he ran in the warehouse not caring what happened to him. As soon as he saw Antonio on the ground, he noticed the guy trying to run away, but Jay shot him before he could get away. "Officer down! Officer down! We need help!" Jay ran over to Antonio and bent down, noticing the gunshot on his neck. "Dammit Antonio!"

Voight ran in the warehouse and he shook his head. He took out his radio, calling for an ambulance.

Sylvie was lying in bed, trying to sleep when the alarm went off.

"Gunshot wound at 3208 S Shields Ave 60616"

She groaned as she walked sleepily to the ambo. The guys were so lucky that they could sleep.

As she got into the Ambulance she looked over at Gabby. "Why can't people get shot at normal times? It's always in the middle of the night!"

Gabby couldn't help but laugh. "Maybe you should take it up with them and ask them. Because I don't know either!"

Sylvie's bad feeling in her stomach was returning when they pulled up to the warehouse and she noticed the intelligence unit at the scene. Of course this could be explained. They were cops after all, and every time someone gets shot at, they had to be called. However, there were way too many cops here for it to be a civilian.

Gabby looked over at Sylvie. "It's just a precaution. Besides, Antonio could just be in there talking to other cops."

Sylvie nodded her head but it didn't help that Gabby also looked worried. Sylvie immediately got out of the ambo and walked around to the back, grabbing the things.

But as soon as she walked in the warehouse, she knew it wasn't a civilian. Thankfully Gabby took the gurney from her because as soon as she saw Antonio lying on the floor, she thought she was going to pass out. If she had that in her hand, she would have definitely dropped it. She had to come back to reality because although this is her boyfriend, she was a paramedic.

She immediately walked over to him and she felt Gabby placed her hand on her. "I can do this." She knew she was calm because she was used to seeing her brother shot at sadly. But Sylvie just shook her head.

"I'm the PIC, I have to handle this." She said as she tried not to focus on Antonio, but on the wound itself. She leaned down and she checked his pulse, relaxing just slightly when it was strong.

She was relieved that he was wearing a bulletproof vest because whoever did this to him wouldn't have cared about killing him. Thankfully they didn't have good aim or else they could have shot his head.

After bandaging the wound up as best as she could, she asked the guys around them to help them put him on the gurney and into the ambo.

She saw the look in Gabby's voice and knew she was struggling as much as she was. Everyone around them was probably confused on why this was effecting Sylvie too. Because as far as everyone else was concerned, Sylvie was just Antonio's sister's partner, and not his girlfriend.

"I'll drive." Gabby said and all Sylvie did was nodded her head in thanks. She knew once at the hospital, she wouldn't see Antonio. Thankfully because of her being a paramedic and dating her partner's brother, she would always be updated.

Sylvie climbed into the ambulance and she placed an IV in his arm. Knowing that she did all she could, and the doctors would need to do the rest, she took a deep breath. She grabbed his hand and she sighed.

"You'll be okay baby." She was always used to seeing Antonio tough and confident, and now seeing him vulnerable, it hurt her.

"You have to fight for me, for your kids. Please baby. I can't lose you." Sylvie was fighting so hard to stay strong but she knew she was failing. She heard the machines start to go off and she looked at it, seeing that his heartbeat was flat lining.

"No! Antonio! Come on!"


	8. Chapter 8: Not going anywhere

**A/N Thank you so so so much for not unfollowing this story. I was having the toughest time wondering where to take this story. But I finally figured it out. Thank god! So, my stories should be updated regularly again! Enjoy!**

"Sylvie! What's going on?!" Gabby yelled back to her.

"I don't know!" Sylvie said in a frightened tone. She had to remember that she had to be professional and she couldn't treat Antonio like he was her boyfriend, but that he was her patient at the moment. "Pull yourself together, Brett." She said to herself.

After refocusing on what was happening with Antonio, she leaned up and grabbed the medicine that should be able to help him. She figured he was only flat lining because of his blood pressure dropping. "How much further, Dawson?" She called out to her partner.

"2 more minutes." Dawson said, and Sylvie heard her go into the radio to Med to let them know to be ready for as soon as they pull up.

Sylvie opened the packet and pushed the medicine into his IV. She took a deep breath of relief when his heart rate came back up. "Thank god baby."

Before she could do anything else, the ambulance was stopped and someone was opening the back doors. Seeing Dr. Halstead, she nodded her head.

"His blood pressure is dropping, but right now I stabilized him."

Dr. Halstead nodded his head. "We got him, Sylvie. He'll be okay." They were all pretty much family, but she hoped what he was saying was true.

Once they wheeled him into the emergency room, she climbed out of the ambulance. She had to stay strong for Antonio, she had to. This was his job, his life, she couldn't break down. Not here.

She walked into the hospital and she walked over to Gabby. "I can fill that out."

Gabby nodded her head. "I'm going to call my parents, okay?"

Sylvie nodded her head as she took the report from Gabby and started filling it out. She didn't mean to step on Gabby's toes, but it made sense that she filled it out since she was the one that helped Antonio, and she was the PIC after all.

A few minutes later, she looked over at the gurney and she shook her head. She knew they had to get back to the firehouse since they were still on shift.

Gabby was back at her side a few minutes later. "I talked to Chief Boden. Since we only have an hour left back in shift, we can head over there and clock out and then head back to the hospital."

Sylvie nodded her head. She looked up as Maggie came over to the nurse's station. "How is Antonio?" She asked in a soft tone.

"He's in surgery, right now. Dr. Rhodes will come out when he's done." She said, giving them a sympathetic look.

"How long will that take?"

"A few hours." She said.

Sylvie and Gabby nodded their heads. "Come on, Sylvie. We'll be back soon."

The ride back to the firehouse, it was a silent one. All that filled Sylvie's head was memories of Antonio. Although they were only dating for a few weeks, they still had a lot of memories together.

Once Gabby backed the ambulance in the spot, Sylvie stepped out of it.

"Are you girls okay?" Everyone started asking them. She loved them but she couldn't focus on the questions right now.

"We're fine." Gabby said. "Antonio on the other hand, is not."

"We're coming to the hospital with you guys." Stella announced.

"You know what?" Gabby said as she looked at everyone surrounding her. "I love you guys so much, but the intelligence unit will be there. So, it won't make sense if we're all there."

"Well, if you need us, we're only a phone call only." Herrmann said to Gabby.

After Sylvie grabbed her things from the locker room and clocked out, she walked outside of the firehouse.

Gabby followed her a few minutes later.

"I'll meet you at the hospital." Sylvie said to Gabby.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you?" Gabby asked concerned. Matt walked out of the firehouse and walked over to Gabby.

"No. I need my car." Sylvie said with a small smile. "I'll see you at the hospital."

As she walking to her car, she heard Matt talking to Gabby. "I'll head home to Louie, go visit your brother."

For the longest time, she envied their relationship, but now that she had Antonio Dawson as a boyfriend, she felt lucky and knew other women envied her.

She opened her car door and got inside. She started her car and pulled off, driving to Med. On the way there, she thought about the kids. "Oh god!" It wasn't that she forgot about the kids, but she wasn't thinking clearly.

She pulled off to the side as she took out her phone. Thankfully Eva gave Sylvie her number so she dialed her number. She pressed the phone to her ear and waited for her to answer.

"Sylvie?" Eva answered a few seconds later.

"Hey Eva." Sylvie said. "Um—I don't know how to say this— "

"He got shot, right?" She was a detective's daughter after all, this wasn't new to her.

"Yes. I'm sorry, sweetie. I mean-he's in surgery." Crap, she didn't mean to say sorry like he died or anything. "I can pick you up after school."

"No!" Eva exclaimed which made Sylvie jumped in surprise. "I want to see my dad, please Sylvie."

"Okay. Well, good thing you're staying at your dad's place. I'll be there in a few minutes." She promised as she ended the call.

Sylvie figured it would be okay if they missed school today since Antonio was in surgery. If she had to fight with him on it later, so be it. She wasn't going to tell his kids no.

20 minutes later, she pulled outside of Antonio's apartment building and the kids were outside already waiting for her. They got inside of Sylvie's car, buckling their seat belts.

"Thank you, Sylvie." Eva said.

"No need to thank me." Sylvie said as she pulled away, heading towards the hospital. "I would never keep you guys away from your father, ever."

They both nodded their heads as the rest of the car ride was silent.

Sylvie turned into Med and she parked in the parking lot. "You know what? I changed my mind. I want to go to school. Please." Eva said.

Realizing she needed someone to talk to her, she turned in the backseat to look at Diego. "Hey listen. Aunt Gabby is in the waiting room, she's by herself. So, can you— "she trailed off.

Diego nodded his head. "Sure." He opened the door and he got out, leaving them alone.

"It was scary for me." Sylvie began. "I was the one that had to make sure your father made it to the hospital."

Eva's eyes widened at Sylvie's revelation. "You mean—you were the paramedics at the scene? But I mean, they know that you're his girlfriend and Aunt Gabby is related to him." She said simply.

"But you see, sweetie, I couldn't look at him like he was my boyfriend. I had to act professional. I had to treat him like every other patient I dealt with in the past. It was hard, but he's going to be fine." She reassured her.

"I just can't see him hooked up to machines-not again. One time was enough, I can't go through this again."

"I understand sweetie. I do. And you don't have to see him if you're not ready. I would never force you to do something you're not comfortable with. But remember, you wanted to be here." She pointed out. "So, even if you just go in the chapel and say a prayer, that's enough."

"I-I don't believe in God anymore." Eva confessed.

This made Sylvie surprised. Antonio was religious, as religious as anyone being a detective could be anyway. "Why not?" She asked, gently.

"After my mom and dad divorced, I just couldn't see a reason for it. And then I thought if crime wasn't so high, my dad wouldn't need to always work. And the reason crime is so high is because of criminals. And God controls that."

Sylvie was shaking her head. "Sweetie, I see awful things happening every day. Things I wish I could unseen. But then I also see miracles. This one woman died while giving birth in the back of my ambulance. But the baby survived. Sure, now the baby had no mother. The miracle in that is that the father stepped in and I just checked in them not too long ago and they're doing amazing." Sylvie smiled at that. "What I'm saying sweetie is, believe in God, don't believe in God, but you're alive and that is a miracle. And your dad will be fine. However, if you want to go to school, I'll drive you."

Eva shook her head. "No, I think as long as you're by my side, I'll be okay."

Sylvie melted at those words but she nodded her head. "I'm right by your side through all this, I promise."

They both got of the car as she walked over to Eva. "Honestly, you kids are keeping me sane right now." Sylvie confessed as they entered the hospital.

They headed towards the waiting room and Sylvie walked over to Gabby, sitting next to her.

"Thank you." Gabby said. "I wouldn't have remembered to called them."

Sylvie nodded her head. "How are you holding up?" She asked as Gabby leaned over, squeezing her hand.

"I'm okay. I know Antonio and I know he would laugh at us for worrying about him. He feels like getting shot is all about being a great detective."

Sylvie scoffed but that sounded like Antonio. Sounded like the man she loved. She needed to stop being afraid of telling him that, but it was too soon.

She looked up as Jay came over to them. "I'm so sorry, guys. I shouldn't have left him alone."

"Hey." Sylvie said. "Instead of it only being Antonio, you would have gotten shot also. Besides, knowing Antonio and I do, he forced you to leave."

Jay nodded his head. "He did, but I shouldn't have listened."

"Antonio is a great detective." Voight said as he walked over to them. "The best I ever seen. He knew he wasn't walking out of this unharmed. So, getting you out of there was the only solution he had." He turned his attention to Jay. "Be grateful to him, but know this is the kind of man he is."

Jay nodded his head. "Well, we got the guy in custody." He said, turning his attention to Sylvie and Gabby. "Shooting a detective, he won't be seeing daylight any time soon."

Sylvie nodded her head. "Antonio will be happy about that." She said, referring to the fact that Voight didn't take it into his own hands and killed the guy.

Jay and Voight nodded their heads at them and then they went back to the other side of the room. Sylvie was dozing off when Gabby gently shook her awake.

Sylvie opened her eyes to see Dr. Rhodes walking in the room. Sylvie and Gabby walked over to him.

"We stabilized him and took the bullet out. However, his body went through an ordeal trauma so I advise if you must see him right now, only one at a time." Dr. Rhodes said.

Gabby looked over at Sylvie. "You go first. So, you can take the kids home." Although it was only 1:00, Sylvie realized this whole ordeal was hard on them and they needed to leave soon.

Before she left, Dr. Rhodes stopped her. "He's not awake right now. So, don't be alarm with how he looks. He needs his rest."

Sylvie nodded her head. She walked with him to Antonio's room and she stood outside for a few seconds, mentally preparing herself. She finally walked inside his room and it broke her heart to see how he looked. For the first time since she known him, he looked vulnerable and fragile.

She walked over to him and she took a deep breath. "If this is your way to see if I'm serious about us, you could have gone a different way." She said with a smile. Although it killed her to see him like this, he was alive and that was all that mattered. "Your kids are fine. I'm with them now." She leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Just rest tonight, okay? That's all you need to do." She kissed his forehead once again and she walked towards the door.

Once back in the waiting room, she looked at Gabby. "Keep me updated, please."

"Of course. Thank you for saving his life." Gabby said giving Sylvie a hug.

Sylvie hugged Gabby back and she nodded her head. Then she turned her attention to the kids. "Come on guys, let's go home."

They stood up and walked over to Sylvie. They said their goodbyes to Gabby and they walked out of the hospital.

By the time they walked into the apartment, it was around 2:30 and Sylvie looked at the kids. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Uh, Sylvie. It's early for dinner." Eva pointed out.

"Then lunch." Sylvie said. "Because you guys didn't eat anything all day."

She felt like the best thing she could do right now was take care of the kids for Antonio.

They knew this was important to Sylvie, so they nodded their heads.

"Okay." Sylvie smiled. "Lunch will be ready soon."

After they were done eating, Sylvie wasn't in the mood to eat but since she wanted the kids to eat, she felt like she had to too, they were watching TV just trying to regroup from the day's events.

"You know— "Eva started. "If you feel like being alone tonight, I'm sure our mom wouldn't mind taking us off your hands."

Sylvie looked over at Eva, her eyes widening at her suggestion. "I mean, if you guys want your mom, I have no argument there. However, if I wanted to be alone, I would be at my apartment, sweetie. This is your home, not mine."

"I know. I don't want to go to my mom's, but you have been taking care of us all day. It isn't your job." Eva pointed out.

Sylvie moved over closer to her on the couch and she wrapped her arm around her. "You think I'm doing this because I feel like I have to? Maybe at first it was because your dad is in the hospital and the last thing he needs to worry about is if his kids are being taking care of. However, I don't feel like this is my job. You and Diego are keeping me sane."

Eva nodded her head, visibly relaxing. "Okay. I just wanted to be sure."

"I'm not going anywhere, okay?" Sylvie reassured her. She sighed internally, knowing what kind of effect Laura abandoned her did to her.

Eva nodded her head and a few minutes later her phone vibrated. Sylvie immediately picked up her phone, noticing the text from Gabby.

 _Antonio is fine. He's not fully awake yet, however, he keeps asking for you. I told him where you were at. I also told him you will see him tomorrow morning. Just relax, he's fine._

Sylvie took a deep breath, for the first time since Antonio was shot, she was relaxing. She was also happy that he was asking for her. That meant he knew they were together. She heard stories of people getting shot, and when they first woke up, they forgot normal events. So, she was relieved.

"Is my dad okay?" Diego asked, noticing the look on Sylvie's face.

"Yes, he's fine. He needs his rest still, so we'll visit him first thing in the morning."

They both nodded their heads, agreeing with Sylvie.

For the rest of the night, Eva was in her room, doing her homework. She was impressed that she was doing it, seeing as how her father was just shot, she figured she would be a mess. But she was glad she wasn't.

Diego was in his room, playing an app on his phone, so Sylvie knew not to bothered him. It was around 7 pm and she knew they had to eat before they went to bed. They all did.

Sylvie decided it would be better to order pizza because she didn't feel like standing behind a stove for hours, cooking. And she was pretty sure the kids weren't up for a big meal anyway. How she got lucky that her boyfriend's kids were amazing, she wasn't sure. But she was happy for that right now.

She heard a knocked on the door, so she walked over to the door and answered it. She paid for the pizza and tipped the delivery guy and then shut the door. She locked the door, knowing if Antonio found out she didn't, he would have flipped out.

She called out for the kids and she smiled when they walked out of their rooms a second later. "I ordered pizza, guys." She announced as she walked in the kitchen and placed the pizza box on the table.

It was around 11 pm and Sylvie finally retreated to Antonio's bedroom. This was the place that she was avoiding, however, she couldn't sleep on the couch. She didn't want to worry the kids any more than they were already.

As she dressed in her pajamas pants and a tank top, she fell back on the bed. She picked up her cell phone from the table and she started looking through her phone at the pictures of her and Antonio. She was missing him tremendously, but she couldn't wait to see him tomorrow.

Sylvie put down her cell phone as she leaned over and laid on Antonio's side of the bed. It smelled like him, which caused her to have tears streaming down her face for the first time since she found Antonio shot.

Eva walked out of her bedroom and she walked into Diego's room. "I miss dad." She complained.

"I do too." He said as he placed his phone on the bed to look at his sister. "But we're going to see him tomorrow."

"I'm not sure if I want to." Eva confessed. "To see him hooked up to the machines, I don't think I can."

"It'll be okay." Diego said, comforting his sister. "If you can't see him like that, don't. He will understand."

Eva nodded her head as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm going to see if I can sleep with Sylvie."

Diego stopped her from leaving the room. "Eva, I understand you love Sylvie, I do too. But she's been with us all day, maybe she needs time alone."

Eva sighed. "I called mom to explained what happened. But she had her phone off for the past two hours. What kind of mother does that? She knows she has kids, her phone should always be on."

Diego nodded his head. "Mom still loves us." He decided changing the subject would be best right now. "Let's ask Sylvie if we can sleep with her." He offered.

Eva smiled and she nodded her head. She walked out of Diego's room and headed into her dad's bedroom. She opened the door, seeing Sylvie laying in bed.

As soon as she heard the door opened, she sat up. "Hey guys, is everything okay?" She asked softly.

"Yes." Diego said.

"We just wanted to know if we could sleep in here. It's okay if we can't but with dad not here-"

Sylvie interrupted her before she could finished her sentence. "Of course. Come on." Sylvie moved over to the side so they could have room on the bed.

Sylvie's face broke out in a smile when they moved in closer to her. She would have loved to be at the hospital with Antonio, but this was where she needed to be, with them.

"Thank you for staying here with us." Eva said.

"There is nowhere else I would rather be, I mean that." Sylvie said. Although she couldn't stop thinking of Antonio, he needed his rest and she knew he felt better knowing Sylvie was with his kids.

Since they all had a pretty hard day, they instantly fell asleep within minutes.


	9. Chapter 9: If it wasn't for you

**A/N Is this for real? Am I finally updating?! I am SO SO sorry for taking longer than a year updating this fic. After Brettonio broke up, I lost motivation for this story but I'm back and ready to continue with this story. I hope for this chapter makes up for my long absence xoxo**

Sylvie were taking the kids to see Antonio before school today. She knew they would feel better if they saw him and knew for themselves that he was okay.

As Sylvie threw her hair into a ponytail, she called out for the kids, "Eva, Diego! Let's go. "

Diego walked out of his room as he thought about what Eva did last night. He walked over to Sylvie, "I'm not sure if I should tell you this," He began as he looked behind him, making sure Eva wasn't in earshot. "She called my mom yesterday, but she didn't answer. This upset Eva so if she's short or seems like she's in a bad mood-" His voice trailed off as Eva walked out of the room.

Sylvie didn't say anything, she just nodded her head, "Your dad is awake and is waiting to see you guys." She said, changing the topic. Her and Eva were getting along well and didn't want to do anything to jeopardize that. She glanced over at Diego, letting him know with a look that she wouldn't get upset if Eva didn't seem friendly like the other times.

"Is-is he hooked up to any machines?" Eva asked as she picked up her bookbag and draped it around her shoulder, "I don't think I can see him like that."

Sylvie picked up her purse and keys and looked over at Eva, "Just the normal machines. Nothing is down his throat if that's what you're worried about."

Eva nodded her head, clearly what she was hinting at.

Sylvie opened the door and walked out of the apartment. She wanted to say something to Eva about what Diego told her, but didn't want to break his trust so she opted to keep her mouth shut.

As they got into Sylvie's car, they all buckled their seatbelts.

"When you guys are done visiting your father, aunt Gabby is going to drive you to school, so I can stay with him," With Antonio awake, she knew they had to talk about a few things.

Diego nodded his head while Eva looked out of the window. As Sylvie peeled away, she sighed, "Are you going to pick us up from school?" She asked softly.

"I am." Sylvie replied, not taking her eyes off the road. "I am on shift so we can hang out at the firehouse," She wished she could have called out of work, she knew Chief Boden would have allowed her, but she wanted to save it for when Antonio was released from the hospital.

"I could call my mom..." Eva said. "Not sure how good that will go." She added a few seconds later, quietly so Sylvie couldn't hear her.

"No, no, I want to do this. Not just for your dad's peace of mind but also for mine." Sylvie knew the whole reason why the kids were living with Antonio now and she refused to let them go back to Laura even just for a few days. "If you guys weren't there last night, I probably would have gone crazy."

Eva and Diego smiled at Sylvie's confession, which relieved her. Honestly, she wasn't sure what she was doing right now but knew she needed the kids as much as they needed her.

20 minutes later, Sylvie and the kids entered Antonio's hospital room. As Diego and Eva walked over to Antonio's side, Gabby stood up from the chair and walked over to Sylvie.

"Hey guys," Antonio said, smiling at Eva and Diego while trying to sit up.

"Hi, dad," they both said in unison. Diego was closer to Antonio while Eva was standing back, cautious of hurting Antonio.

Luckily, his injury was covered with a bandage, and although he looked pale and weak, there was nothing the kids could do to hurt him, unless they planned on touching his bandage which she was sure they didn't.

"How are you feeling?" Diego asked as Eva walked closer to her father. Sylvie made a mental note in her mind that after school she was gonna check in on her. She seemed to be taking things hard and if Sylvie wasn't in a daze last night, maybe she'd have noticed this.

"I'm okay. Better now that I know you guys are okay," Antonio smiled softly as he glanced at Sylvie for a brief second. Without saying anything to her, he turned his attention back to his kids. "Are you going to school?" He asked, feeling guilty that he couldn't drive them.

Eva nodded her head, "Aunt Gabby is driving us."

Gabby looked down at her watch, "And as much as I hate to cut this reunion short, we need to leave now or else we're going to end up being late."

As the kids said their goodbyes to Antonio, Sylvie turned her attention to Gabby, "Thank you for staying here last night with him and keeping me updated."

"You don't need to thank me silly, he's my brother." Gabby picked up her purse from the chair and looked over at Sylvie. "I'll see you soon."

"Have a good day!" She told the kids before they left Antonio's hospital room.

As she turned around and faced Antonio, she couldn't help but let out a smile, mirroring his own.

"I was asking about you last night," Antonio admitted as he held out his hand for her to take.

Sylvie walked over to him and she took his hand, sitting down on the chair beside his bed. "I know, Gabby told me. I would have stayed here last night but the kids needed to get home."

"Before we get to that-" Antonio began as his eyes searched over her. "Are you okay?"

Typical of Antonio to ask her how she is doing while he's laying in the hospital bed with a bullet wound in his neck.

"I—I'm fine. I also wasn't the one nearly fighting for my life. So, maybe let me ask you if you're okay?" She asked softly, as she looked down at their fingers intertwining. It amazed her how much she not only cared about him, but also adored him in their short time of being together.

"Hey, I'm okay," he replied, reassuring her. "I was told that you were the paramedic first on the scene, so I know I wouldn't have been okay if it wasn't for you." Antonio took a deep breath, as he gave her hand a squeeze, "and I also know it couldn't have been easy trying to stay calm through all of that."

Sylvie wanted to joke about how she was trained for this, she wanted to keep the conversation light, but her body betrayed her. Without wanting to, her mind flashed back to seeing that it was Antonio who was shot and how she almost lost him. A tear escaped and rolled down her cheeks. Antonio let go of her hand as he wiped the tear away. As soon as he did, he took her hand again and let her process everything.

A few minutes passed without them saying a word, but the silence wasn't an uncomfortable one. Antonio could sit there for hours and hold her hand without saying anything and he would have been content, especially if that was what she needed.

"I feel like I need to tell you something," Sylvie began.

"You aren't breaking up with me, are you?" Antonio joked and when Sylvie didn't say anything, Antonio grew anxious and nervous. "That was a joke."

"Clearly," Sylvie flashed him a small smile to let him know she wasn't planning on doing anything stupid. "It's not about us." She said, not knowing how much he could take. It may have seemed like nothing to her, it may have not been that way for him.

Antonio relaxed as his eyes locked on hers. "Okay. What is it?" He urged her to tell her what was wrong.

"I promised Diego I wouldn't say anything, but Eva tried calling Laura last night, but she didn't pick up the phone. I'm only telling you this because I want to make her feel better, but I don't know how."

"Great." Antonio muttered. "And when Laura finds out I was shot and didn't tell her, she's going to turn into a mama bear. It's a role she loves to play."

"Sorry," Sylvie winced, not realizing maybe she, herself, should have tried to call Laura. "I didn't realize she may have not liked me watching the kids."

"No, hey, that isn't it." Antonio tried to reassured Sylvie but failed. "Maybe not, but Eva tried contacting her and I'm sure she was trying to since she found out I was shot. This is on her."

"I just don't want to cause problems between you and Laura."

"The only person she can blame is herself." Antonio sighed. "But I am grateful, so grateful, that you took care of the kids for me. You didn't have to do that."

She shrugged her shoulders, "I didn't have to, but I wanted to. Besides, as much as they needed me, I needed them. They kept me calm and sane, and I'm glad they weren't alone."

Antonio stared at Sylvie for a few seconds, amazed at his girlfriend. Amazed that while he wasn't looking, he met the perfect person for him. Shaking his head from those thoughts, "Anyway, you wanted to know how to make Eva feel better, just distract her mind. She overthinks a lot, and being a teenager, I'm sure you can do things to distract her."

Sylvie nodded her head, "Okay. I think I can do that."

"Do you have to work today?" He asked.

"I do. I'm hoping we aren't on call when the kids are out of school, but if so, I'll ask Jay to pick them up for me. He told me if I need any favors to call him." It was also because of his involvement with Antonio's shooting that made him feel guilty and he wanted to help in any way he could.

"Or you could call my mom and ask her too." Antonio suggested.

"Right—um," Since their relationship was fairly new, she didn't meet his entire family yet and wasn't sure if she was ready for that. "I can get Gabby then."

"I wish you could stay," Antonio said, he wasn't ready to watch Sylvie walk away yet.

"I do too, but this way, when you are released from the hospital, I can take a few days off to take care of you."

"I like the sound of that," Antonio murmured as he lifted her hand and pressed a gentle kiss against her soft skin.

Sylvie smiled as she stood up and regrettably let go of his hand. "I'll check in on you throughout the day, though."

Being a paramedic, she was able to have plenty of chances to come to the hospital and she knew Gabby would be okay if she snuck away for a few seconds to check on him.

"I-I'll miss you," Antonio confessed although that wasn't what he meant to say. He wanted to tell her he loved her, but also didn't want to do it when he was in a vulnerable state. It wouldn't be any less true, but he wanted it to be perfect.

Sylvie smiled softly as she leaned down, wanting to give him a kiss on the cheek before she left. Before her lips touched his cheeks, he moved his face and her lips landed on his. Although she was surprised, she moved her hand on his face as the kiss deepened.

A few seconds later, she pulled away from the kiss, not wanting to stop but knowing if she didn't, she never would have.

"Damn," she breathed out, her forehead resting against his. "That's one way to make sure I come back."

Antonio chuckled as Sylvie moved her forehead from his and stood up, "Try to recover quickly so you can come home."

He nodded his head as he leaned against his pillows, never taking his eyes off of her, "Be careful today, okay?"

Sylvie nodded as she moved to the door and then turned back to look at him, "I will." She gave him one last smile before she headed out of his room and headed down the hallway and towards the elevator.

* * *

It was by luck that Sylvie made it to work in time and was dressed in her uniform before her shift started. She was sure Boden would have understood but still, she never wanted her personal life to intervene with her professional life.

As soon as they were all settled in and caught up on what to do for the day, Sylvie headed into the kitchen. Sylvie poured herself a bowl of cereal and then walked over to the table and sat down. She began to eat when Stella asked her how Antonio was doing. She was sure she could get the information from Gabby but knew she wanted to also see how the two of them were doing. "He's good, hopefully can be released in a few days," Sylvie replied, a huge smile appearing on her face.

Sylvie was trying so hard to hide the smile because she knew her coworkers would catch the smile and start asking questions, but she couldn't help it. She was so relieved that Antonio was okay and would be home soon. She was so worried that this could have easily put a strained on their relationship, but instead it just made them stronger.

Before they could have questioned Sylvie though, the alarm blared.

" _Ambulance 61, personal injury"_

Sylvie sighed as she stood up and rushed out of the firehouse. As much as she was glad to have a busy start to the morning, she wished she could have at least finish her bowl of cereal.

Sylvie ran to the passenger side and got inside. She didn't even care about Gabby driving because truthfully, it was a little break she needed to collect her thoughts. Sensing she needed a little break before they saved someone, Gabby didn't say anything, she turned on the sirens and pulled out of the firehouse.

* * *

30 minutes later they walked back into the firehouse. Luckily it was just their frequent flyer, it was a call that normally annoyed Sylvie but right now she was glad it wasn't someone who was in dire need of help.

"Hey," Gabby said, grabbing Sylvie's attention. "Let's do some inventory."

Sylvie nodded her head and then she walked back out and headed back towards the ambo.

"I figure you could use a distraction and didn't want them to start asking you questions," Gabby explained as she climbed into the ambo and then Sylvie did the same.

"You're a good friend," Sylvie grinned.

"Not for long," Gabby said, causing Sylvie to stare at Gabby in confusion. "You think I could stay with Antonio all night and have no questions afterwards?"

Sylvie sighed as she sat down and started counting the supplies they had, she then picked up the clipboard from the cabinet to write down how many supplies they had, "Go for it."

"Maybe not questions but observations, definitely," Gabby began. "When Antonio woke up last night, the only person he kept asking for was you. I should also add that he was still out of it until this morning."

She nodded her head but didn't say anything, knowing Gabby wasn't finished.

"I guess I just didn't realize how serious you two were," Gabby commented.

"I didn't either," she confessed. "But I also wasn't thinking about it until this happened."

"I get that. No sense on questioning where your relationship is going, especially when things are good."

"Good?" Sylvie echoed as she placed the clipboard down and she smiled softly, "things are great. I mean, minus the whole getting shot thing, Antonio and I are great."

Gabby smiled, loving seeing her friend happy, "I feel like I need to apologize."

Sylvie picked up the clipboard again, reading the next supplies she needed to count. She shot Gabby a puzzled expression, "For what?"

"You may not have realized this, but I wasn't the biggest supporter of you and Antonio being together," she admitted.

"No, you don't say," Sylvie said, sarcastically.

"Right," Gabby said, shaking her head. "But now, I don't know-maybe I was wrong. You two do seem perfect for each other."

"Yeah?" Sylvie asked as she turned her full attention on Gabby, forgetting yet again what they were supposed to do.

She nodded her head, "Not once did you complain about Antonio being shot. You never once said you couldn't do this or you didn't sign up for this, or how this isn't fair to you. Hell, you are even taking care of his kids."

She laughed, "It's funny you mention this because I think Antonio thought I was breaking up with him. I think he was waiting for me to say I couldn't do this-" Sylvie's expression turned serious, "not realizing what I couldn't do, what I can't do, is walk away from him. It seems so silly because our relationship is still fairly new to have these strong feelings, but I do."

Gabby placed her hand on Sylvie's shoulder, "Hey, love isn't measured in time. You could fall in love within hours or it could take months. Love just happens without thinking about it or sometimes or even wanting it to happen."

"Wait, wait—" Sylvie shook her head, "I don't-I don't love Antonio. Sure, I care about him deeply and I see myself one day maybe falling in love with him, but it hasn't happened yet."

Before Gabby could respond the alarm blared.

" _Engine 51, Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61."_

Sylvie and Gabby put away the supplies and Sylvie took the clipboard with her. Gabby then closed the ambulance door behind them.

"Look," Gabby said as she looked at Sylvie, "You can convince yourself that you don't love Antonio because the last guy you loved nearly destroyed you and made you leave your hometown, but for what it's worth, you have a good thing going, don't let fear win." Gabby said before she walked over to the passenger side, allowing Sylvie to drive this time.


End file.
